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Erika laughed as Jerome spilled his drink all over his new tunic. He grinned back at his little sister and snatched her from her seat, tickling her until she was crying with laughter. She was only eight, him twenty three. He only came to visit once every year, a time she always loved, anticipated, and rejoiced in. Family.

Gone.

2.

Voyage

As they climbed through the still-open bathroom window, the sun was getting high in the sky, and Will looked at Mercy curiously.

“Aren’t you supposed to, like, die in sunlight or something? No offense.” Mercy just grinned, and ran her fingers along four gashes in the wall. Then She frowned slightly, tightened her folded wings closer to her body, then turned back to Will.

“Yeah, I suppose, most of us do get hurt, but I hardly get a sunburn. Sunscreen eliminates even that. Only super-frequent-feeders actually die in sunlight, though. I only feed when absolutely necessary, which is about once a month. If I don’t go at least once in a month, I’ll just go on a killing rampage and feed on every human I see. Not to scare you, but you smell really good. You always did, though.” She blushed a little, as if she just realized what she said. Her smile vanished as she remembered why they were at her apartment.

“I’ll go pack, and then we’ll go over to your place to get your stuff, just a minute.” She vanished into the bedroom connected to the bathroom, and returned in less than a minute with a small bag full with clothes, she proceeded to open drawers, grab something, shut the drawer, and then go on with amazing speed. Fifteen seconds later she gave Will the bag then ran back into the bedroom. She came back almost instantly changed into a black hoodie and snug, but comfortable looking, jeans. Will couldn’t help but smile at how… normal she looked. She blushed again when she caught him staring, then took him by the waist and jumped out the window again, and Will briefly wondered why he didn’t find this as odd as it seemed.

***

Cindy flew around the city four times, but Mercy’s scent was gone. Hidden by another’s, a stronger scent than Mercy’s. It was intoxicating, like the smell of chocolate cake to a starving hobo. She stopped, hovering, and frowned. What the hell? She thought, that’s human talk. And not even good human talk either. She shook her head and flew on.

Following the scent, gliding on the near high it put her in; it led her back to her dorm. She dove through the open window, instantly going to the bedroom, where she knew something was waiting. The note on her bed was written in Mercy’s hand, telling Cindy to meet her, Daniel, and Will at the Blood Mountain’s peak. In Arizona. In two days.

What the hell? Who’s Will? When did Mercy make contact will Daniel? She could have been killed! Oh, Will must be the chocolate cake. Mmm…

Cindy locked the door and turned to the bathroom. She stopped, stunned. Daniel was leaning against the door frame. She sighed.

“I told you to stay away from her. Now you are going to get her killed. And for what? A rock? I told you when we agreed to this that I would protect her, no matter the cost. If that cost is killing you, you know I will.” She crossed her arms, and Daniel sighed softly.

“I know you will. That’s why you are coming with us. We need someone who can fight well, and you fit the bill alright. Be at Blood Mountain as soon as possible. Victoria, er, Mercy, rather, will be there tomorrow night.” He turned and started out the window, which was being used as an entrance more than the door recently. Then he paused and looked back at Cindy.

“And Cindy, be sure to wear that charm I gave you.” Then he was gone, and Cindy was left, scowling. She packed and was flying in less than a minute, once again gliding on her Chocolate Cake’s scent.

***

Mercy and Will, after packing Will’s necessary items, walked to the car dealer two streets down. There, Mercy influenced the owner to give her, free of charge, a red convertible that shone brilliantly in the bright sun. if influence meant scary red eyes and big teeth with a little 'gimme!' thrown in. By then she’d somehow put her wings away and Will couldn’t see them anymore. He noted, as he waited for her to finish with the owner, that there were slits, barely noticeable, hidden by extra fabric, in the back of her hoodie, and most likely in her shirt as well.

When they got in, Mercy was speeding down highway after highway, as if no speed were fast enough. She tried her best to tell Will all she knew of vampire and demon information. Not a whole lot, as it turned out. She tapped at the steering wheel impatiently.

“So, vampires, um, I told you about the sunlight, they can die, by a few things; drowning, sunlight, a stake through the heart, of course, that usually kills anything, decapitation, burning, um, probably some other things too. We’re super fast, have really strong senses, like, I could hear a pin drop across a football field. And our sense of smell is like, better than anything else in the world. We smell ordinary smells, like perfume, food, animals, and garbage, but we can also smell, literally, when a human is lying, afraid, happy, sad, angry, etcetera. We cannot smell other vampires’ emotions though. Nothing from the other races either. But everyone has a unique smell. Yours is like, amazing. Like something…” she trailed off, mouth still open, and Will could see her incisors growing longer. She ran her tongue over them.

“Whoa. Okay, I get it. I smell good. Don’t eat me. Move on to a different subject. Please.” Will tried a smile, and it worked. Her teeth receded back into her gums, and she told him various things of various importances. He listened with fascination as all his studying was sorted into the category of ‘omygosh I was right!’ or ‘whoa was I ever wrong’. Demons don’t die unless they have someone drive a stone knife or spear through their stomach or heart, or they are completely purified or forgiven. Drowning works on them too, but they come back after a while if drowned. Demons are like vampires, but stronger, more powerful, and eat everything but the bones, not just the blood. They can both fly, but vampires have more agility in the air than demons.

After a couple hours and more than a little nagging, she told him her story.

“ Fine. Um, how I died. I was eighteen. I’d had the perfect life. I was beautiful, rich, courted by many, engaged to this guy, Richard. He was nice, we were in love. My dad died before I could remember him, so it was just me, my sister, and my mother living in our mansion with eight servants. Well, anyway, I asked my mother to go for a walk with me, so I could tell her about my engagement.” Her eyes were fixed on the highway, mind elsewhere. Will wanted to hold her hand, comfort her, because he had a feeling that the story was going to take a bad turn.

“We walked, laughed. She was my best friend, my mother. She took the news with joy, just like I had anticipated. On our way home, we took a shortcut through an alleyway. There was a man there, he cut off our path. He was elegant, black hair, slicked back, wavy. I remember falling in love with him the second he caught my eye. He was kind, chatted with my mother for a while, and then invited us in for tea. We went, but I had this… feeling that something bad was going to happen. Inside, he locked the door without us knowing. Then he grabbed my mother, just took her by the shoulders and slammed her against the door, and bit her neck. He ripped the flesh off, and I heard her screaming.” she took a shaky breath. “ Screaming. I was backed into a corner. I saw her blood falling as he ate her. He was licking the blood off of her face. I heard every drop that fell onto his stone floor. He, he killed her. My best friend, and he killed her.” A tear escaped from her eye and rolled down her cheek; her voice broke at the end of the sentence. Now Will did take her hand. His own eyes were tear-brimmed. She glanced at him now, saying “He killed my best friend. Then… then, he killed me.”

Will stiffened.

“But he didn't take away your life, that's for sure,” Will started, comfort in his voice. “You aren’t dead. You’re alive, I mean you breathe. You sleep. You walk and talk and… eat. You aren't actually dead.” After a long pause of silence, he said “I know you're alive, Mercy. You have more life inside of you than anyone I know, or ever knew. I almost envy you your...” Mercy shot him a look, “Sorry. So do you have to sleep, ‘cause I do, so are we going to stop and rest or…” Mercy physically relaxed at the change of subject.

“I can go weeks without rest. It’s kind of like with the sunlight. The stronger the vamp, the longer you can go without sleep. You can sleep in the backseat. Sleep tight,” She said quietly. Then, with a small hint of a smile she added, “And don’t let the vampies bite.” This got a laugh out of Will, and he jumped over and into the backseat, where he lay and thought on his current situation a while, wondered if he’d be fired when he got back, and slightly wished Cornelia were here so he could talk about it with a human. Then, as he came upon something enlightening and useful, he fell asleep and the thought would be forgotten in the morning.

still cheesy, but soon, people, soon!! :D