I thought Destiny was just trying to work some things out, until she left town. It’s been almost a month since I last saw her, held her, or she held me. She didn’t even wait for me to heal up completely. She left me at her apartment so Elias wouldn’t be suspicious of how I got hurt, or worry too much. I woke up one morning and she was gone. All she left me was a text message apologizing for leaving so suddenly. She claimed there was family business she had to take care of; she just doesn’t know I heard her in the car.

I play along with it, say how much I miss her. I do miss her, but I understand why she’s going away. I complain, never enough to make her feel bad, but enough that she knows I care. I don’t ask any questions about where she’s gone or if she is with anyone else, I trust her. I just hope she comes back soon, because I don’t expect them to leave us alone.

I spent the first two weeks recovering, a few magical ointments and potions she left behind sped the process up. Real life health potions, my inner nerd went insane until I tasted them. They worked, but they tasted like sparkling water that someone dipped an avocado into; not enough flavor to be enjoyable but just enough to make me hate the taste. I always thought health potions would be strawberry flavored, and mana potions would be blueberry. The creams made sure I wasn’t left with any lasting scars. I was kind of hoping I’d have a cool scar to tell stories about, but it isn’t a story that I could really tell people.

I haven’t just sat idle during my time without Destiny. I’ve worked hard to be a better man. I want to be more useful to her, the people around me and the world in general. I’ve spent a lot of time in the library and on the occult web looking for ways I can be useful. My magic ability isn’t super strong, but I’ve studied ways to expand my pool of magic but the results have only been small so far. I’ve gotten faster with opening and closing my pocket but there’s nothing else. I still can’t throw fireballs or anything like that. The one thing I think I might have some success with is learning to read and write runes.

They aren’t very practical for fighting directly, but they’re useful for laying traps and making everyday objects extraordinary which can give you an edge when needed. Knowledge on them is sparse and there’s different ways to create runes but I’ve got enough of the basic principles. Some people use their own magic to draw the symbols and give them power. I don’t have enough magic for that so I’ll have to engrave the runes physically and then draw power from the surrounding area. The part I’m stuck on is trying to learn the symbols required. Runes are pretty old school, one of the earliest magics so they’ve been phased out, but they’re great for people who don’t have a lot of magic available to them, like me. I’ve been searching for someone to teach me, but often they seem more like traps for some serial killer or the price is too steep. The price is never just cash, but something like a portion of my soul or liver. The forums I looked at had a running joke about rune mages being creepy, and I understand how they earned that stereotype.

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I’ve also been looking for more information on various vampire houses, perhaps finding some allies. The ruling houses don’t like going to war and they have a yearly meeting where they can make or break houses that go against the others. Right now, in the United States there are thirty-three different houses that each have control of different regions. The Marson family mostly works in the deep south, but have been making moves into the heartlands and Great Lakes territories. Both houses that control the areas are week. Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan are up for the taking. Rumors have spread about the two houses controlling them are merging, but they could also be wiped out and taken. The Marson family is probably aiming to take those territories and from what I’ve seen on the web, nobody is trying to stop them. The reason being is House Marson’s profitability. Their profit mostly comes from capturing and selling rare magical creatures. Some say that they may traffic humans for the blood and as slaves but nobody has been able to prove it without reasonable doubt. Either, way I don’t feel the need to keep digging.

Today, I’m just out for a nice walk, trying to keep my body ready in case I need to fight. I’ve applied for my license to take on gigs and independent contracts. I listed the work I did with Destiny, so hopefully they get back to me before she comes home. Becoming a hunter will let me access more resources that were previously unavailable to me.

“Excuse me,” an old lady calls to me. “Could you help with my bag, it’s going to tear.”

I don’t hesitate to grab the paper bag from her, and follow as she leads me across the street. I would have been a great boy scout, but I understand why the bag might rip. I glance down to see what might be making the bag so heavy. None of this stuff actually looks like groceries, what is this stuff?

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to look at an old lady’s unmentionables,” the old woman’s voice is suddenly less raspy.

I turn to look at her only to have my eyes filled with blue mist once again. I try to fight the oncoming sleep and wipe my eyes clear but I feel my knees buckle. I’m starting to understand why Destiny hates these people.

“Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you. Sleep tight.”