Chapter 9: The borders

The car ride continued in silence. The clouds rolled in, covering the sun, making it more comfortable for the duo. Terrell drummed his fingers on the steering wheel along with the beats of the radio song.

Ethan, on the other hand, was lost in his thoughts. His mind wandered to his so-called master.

Terrell broke the silence as he pointed to a tattoo parlor. "See that?"

"Yeah?"

"That belongs to a witch."

Ethan raised his brow and turned to Terrell. "Werewolves, and now witches in tattoo parlors? It feels like you're fucking with me."

Terrell laughed heartily and said, "No, I'm serious. She makes some mean potions, so I'd stay on her good side if I were you."

"Are we going in?" Ethan asked.

"Maybe another day," Terrell answered as he drove off.

"So witches?" Ethan couldn't help but ask again.

"Yep."

"Like, with magic and stuff?"

"Kind of, yes."

"How does that work?"

Terrell scratched his chin in contemplation, "Hmm, think of them as magical hippies?"

"Hah," Ethan chuckled.

"They stay in tune with nature. They do some weird rituals with all sorts of herbs. Yeah, hippies."

"And what do they have to do with... us?"

"We stay out of their business, and they stay out of ours."

"I see. So you are telling me all sorts of weird magical creatures and monsters live with us, and no one has ever noticed?"

"Correction, you are now one of said magical monsters. And most of the human populace don't know. It's to everyone's benefit for it to stay that way. Now, their higher-ups, on the other hand, are well aware of our existence."

"They do?"

"Of course, humans aren't stupid. Do you think we can remain hidden this long without anyone knowing? Of course not. There are always some slip-ups. The Council can try to cover our tracks, but that doesn't always work. Some humans are okay with working with us, others not so much."

Terrell turned to look at Ethan as they stopped at another light, "There is one thing everyone agrees on, however, and that's to keep the public in the dark."

"So it's an open secret?"

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Terrell shrugged, "If you are high enough, then everything is."

****

The duo departed from downtown as Terrell drove them toward a rough area. Ethan looked out of the window as they passed by dozens of homeless people, beggars, and street workers. If this place looked like this during the day, he wondered how it was at night.

The distant sound of gunshots brought his attention back to the other side of the road, where a car sped out of an alley and swerved into the main road.

Terrell remained calm, happily humming along to the song. It seemed he was familiar with such a scene.

"Where are we?" Ethan asked.

"The borders. Welcome to Ironwood," Terrell grinned.

"Is this Rogue territory?"

"Close, this is neutral ground."

"Neutral ground? So nobody controls this place?" Ethan asked.

Terrell nodded, "You can think of this place as a no-man's land. Behind us is the Council's territory, and up ahead are the Rogues."

"I see. What are we doing here?"

"I need to pick up some stuff for tonight," Terrell grinned.

Ethan nodded and stared out the window as Terrell drove deeper into the neighborhood. The car pulled up next to an old mechanics shop. The street was mostly deserted as Terrell stepped out of the vehicle. Ethan took that as a cue to follow behind.

“Archie,” Terrell nodded at the old man sitting in the chair.

"She's in the back," the old man replied, yawning. He barely glanced at Ethan as they entered.

The shop was quiet, not what Ethan had expected a mechanic's place to look like. An old car was parked in the middle with the hood popped, but there was no one there.

Terrell walked to the back and paused in front of an old, dilapidated door. He knocked once and opened it. Ethan followed right behind him.

A woman with brown hair sat behind a desk. Ethan raised his brow as he observed her bulging muscles. 'She is a lady, right?' he wondered inwardly.

The wonder woman raised her eyes from the document she was reading and squinted as she looked at Terrell. "You're late," she said, her voice surprisingly high-pitched for her frame.

"Traffic," Terrell answered as he pulled a chair for himself.

Ethan scanned the dimly lit room filled with books and documents. Some were sprawled on the floor, while most were neatly arranged on her desk.

Her gaze moved from Terrell and fell on Ethan. "And who the fuck are you?"

Ethan was caught off-guard by her attitude. Fortunately, Terrell intervened before he could respond. "He's with me, Nora. I would watch the tone if I were you. Otherwise, even I won't be able to help you."

Nora's frown deepened as she eyed Ethan up and down. "Whatever, let's just get this over with," she said and stood up.

"Are you keeping everything here?" Terrell asked.

"Hmm," she nodded and brushed past Ethan, making her way out of the room.

"Who is she?" Ethan turned to Terrell and asked.

"A dealer. Come, you'll see."

"Archie! Move the damn thing already!"

Nora stopped in front of the old car and yelled. Moments later, the ground began to shift, and the entire car was lifted, revealing a hidden cabinet beneath the surface.

Terrell whistled as he looked at the neatly displayed guns. There were three that looked like military-grade assault rifles, along with four pistols.

"Did I ever tell you how much I love you, Nora?"

"Spare me, just get your shit and leave."

"Yes, yes," Terrell grinned as he closed the large box containing all the guns and easily lifted it onto his back.

"As always, send the bill to the Council."

Nora waved them off.

"Archie! Close it!"

"Come on, time to go."

Ethan nodded and followed him out of the shop. The old man was gone when they left. Terrell placed the box in the back seat since it was too large to fit in the trunk.

As they settled into the car, he cast an inquisitive glance at Terrell, curiosity dancing in his eyes.

"It's for work," He grinned.

"I didn't think Vampires needed guns?"

"Well, they certainly make some things easier, you know?"

"Can you kill a vampire with one?"

"With enough bullets, absolutely you can!" Terrell replied with a spark of excitement in his eyes. "But these aren’t for fending off vampires. No, they’re just a precaution—an extra layer of safety in case any cheeky dogs decide to crash our little gathering!"

"What about bullets? I didn't see you get any?"

"We got some back in the house, so we're good."

The drive back to the house was uneventful. It was almost evening when they arrived.

Clara was already awake and sitting in the kitchen, holding a glass cup filled with a tempting red liquid. Ethan's dead heart skipped a non-existent beat as he looked at it.

"Oh, welcome back," she said as she raised her eyes from her phone.

Terrell groaned as he moved the heavy box into the house and dropped it with a thud.

"Tonight should be fun," he said.

"We'll see," Clara said as she quickly downed her drink in one gulp. Her eyes turned to Ethan, "How did you sleep?"

Ethan nodded, "It was okay. Thank you."

Clara nodded in satisfaction. "I'm not sure what Terrell told you, but tonight we go to take care of a few younglings that stepped out of line."

"Rogues?" Ethan asked.

"Yes, they holed themselves up in a warehouse close by, and have been terrorizing the place."

Clara approached the box full of guns and grabbed one of the pistols. "Do you know how to use a gun?"

"I wouldn't say I'm very good at it," Ethan said, shaking his head.

"That's fine; just hold on to this one."

“Use it only if necessary, specifically for the werewolves.”

"Got it."

Clara and Terrell then retreated to their rooms, changed clothes, and gathered the ammunition. Ethan still found it quite surprising that werewolves were actually weak to silver.

'I guess there is some truth to the myths,' he inwardly noted.