The cold air blew through the silence. What finally broke said silence was the head of the vampire still moving and making noise. Mindplay went to pick up the head, utterly undisturbed that it was still sentient.
Referring to the white-haired girl's last question, he said, “It may be best to deal with this one before addressing the rest of the room.” As he held the head, it began to regrow a new body from the neck.
With a sigh, the white-haired girl pulled out a lighter and produced a flame under the head of the red-haired vampire. He screamed in pain as she cauterized the neck and, once that was done, began to burn the rest of the body that lay motionless at our feet. Once again, I was shocked at how (somewhat) calm Mindplay was to all of this.
Once the screaming stopped piercing the air, Mindplay introduced the group. “Right. Well, first off, my name is Mindplay, a superhero private investigator. That hoodie-wearing man is Silver, along with his dragon partner, BD. And you are?” He waved his free hand at the girl.
She merely squinted at BD and asked, “That’s a dragon? I can’t remember if I’ve seen one so small before.” She looks over at me. “Silver, was it? I assume this is your dragon?”
“Seems that way,” I responded. “How much do you know about dragons?”
“Enough to get by.” She scratches the back of her head, looking almost bashful. “I guess I should thank you for your help, though I didn’t need it. And it doesn’t change the fact that I will have to take you down sooner or later.”
“Wait, what did I do?” I asked, with BD growling defensively.
“I know a monster when I see one, even if you’re different from anything I’ve seen up to this point.”
“Look, lady, I didn’t choose this. Whatever your deal is, it isn’t with me. I’m just trying to find Shadow Fang and finish everything.”
“Well, isn’t that a problem because I’m after Shadow Fang. If you want to get in my way, it’s your unmarked grave you’re digging.”
Mindplay spoke up, getting in between the three of us. “Let’s not get hostile, guys. We’re all after the same man, but that doesn’t mean we must go after him separately.”
The girl turned to him and said, “You want to work together? At what point did you think I would consider that idea?”
“At the end of my explanation.” The girl didn’t seem to believe Mindplay, and I couldn’t blame her. Even still, Mindplay held on to his confidence. “You are skilled in what you’re doing, as seen with you keeping pace with Silver. You also know your target quite well, but you might be missing some key pieces.”
“And what pieces are those?” The girl crossed her arms.
“Oh, I wouldn’t know. That’s where he comes in.” Mindplay pointed to me as I just stood there. “As someone from the world of magic and monsters, he has insight into and about places you may not have considered. What you know about Shadow Fang’s habits, he would know Shadow Fang’s criminal history. Where you just see a high-valued prey, he could see a wanted fugitive.
On top of that, working together increases the chance of catching him by turning the competition into an ally. If we went our separate ways, we would run into each other and have to deal with the competition before going after Shadow Fang. By then, he would have escaped, or we would be too tired to deal with him.
Conclusion: working together makes all our lives easier.”
The girl unfolded her arms, but she seemed to be unphased. “I have two questions. Number one: what’s your stake in all of this? You seem to be a normal human, so why bother with these affairs?”
“I have no beef with the vampire, but Silver does. It’s an agreement I have made with him to help find Shadow Fang in exchange for something else.”
The girl turned to me next and asked her second question. “You do realize that I need to bring him back alive. Even if working together is the best option, there is still only one prize.”
I couldn’t tell if she was more into the idea of joining forces or not. Mindplay might as well have been talking to a wall, with the only indication of her listening was her staring him in the eyes. It seems the last part of this negotiation fell on me and her focus. I could tell there was tension between us. I needed to choose my words carefully. Otherwise, she might misunderstand, and Mindplay's efforts would be in vain.
But how could I agree to those terms? Shadow Fang is a wanted criminal of Skyland and needs to be turned in to those authorities. Right?
1. Shadow Fang doesn’t need to be taken in alive, right?
Seemingly understanding what I was asking, she echoed her response in my head. As long as he can be confirmed dead or imprisoned, his health doesn’t really matter.
I turn to the girl, “You can take him. I want to ensure Shadow Fang can no longer harm others.”
She tilted her head to the side slightly. “Is that really it? You would just give him up so easily despite knowing how dangerous he is?”
“Look, I agree with Mindplay when it comes to working together. This redhead was pulling out tricks that even you must be shocked to see. If he’s with Shadow Fang, we are only getting started seeing stuff like that.”
It was easy to tell that the white-haired girl seemed uncomfortable with the plan presented. The thought alone might have been enough to give her chills and make her hairs stand on end. Surprisingly, she seemed to accept faster than I would have thought she would.
“Fine,” she said reluctantly, “I agree to these terms. But don’t mistake my cooperation for acceptance of you and what you are. I don’t trust either of you.”
“Words to live by, but in this case, it may not be the best course of action,” Mindplay said while walking between us yet again. “As Silver said, we don’t know what we will come across next, and for this to work, we need to act as a functioning unit. It’s apparent Shadow Fang has an organization that may span across nations, and we are only three strong. Which reminds me, we never got your name.”
The white-haired girl responds, realizing he is talking about her. “Raya.”
“Good. Now that we are on a first-name basis let’s go to Brazil.”
“Wait, why Brazil?”
“While you guys were talking, I managed to pry some information from our bodiless hostage and found out Shadow Fang's next move is to go into the Amazon Rainforest. What is to be gained there, he didn’t know. However, Brazil seemed to be an important location to him. It might be a rendezvous point or a drop-off. Either way, chances are we can get more information in Brazil and decide our next move based on what we find.”
I was once again impressed by how much Mindplay could gather in such a short time. At the same time, I was getting skeptical after the download of information during the fight. However, even if I was on to something, as long as Mindplay was willing to help me, did it really matter if I found out?
Raya was just as shocked as I was. “How did you manage to get that out of him?” she asked.
“Honestly, some of that was guesswork, but it all makes too much sense to be wrong. Besides, it’s part of my job.”
“Well, that too is part of my ’job’ and, if you don’t mind, I’ll confirm your claims myself.” Raya went over to the vampire’s head in a puff, but once she got there, she found that the vampire had passed out. She picked the head up and inspected it, most likely looking for any form of tampering past the charred neck stump. Presumably not finding anything, she turned to Mindplay and said, “You sneaky bastard.”
Mindplay only smiled. “It’s like I said. You have no reason to trust us, but we must start doing so for success. Trusting each other's unique abilities is a good place to start.”
Raya was far from happy and looked almost defeated. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
“You won’t know unless you come with us. And you will come with us. I said the next step is to go to Brazil, but only I know where in Brazil we need to go.”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“You have this all figured out, don’t you?”
“No, I don’t. There are still things that I don’t know. Things that only you would know and likewise only Silver and BD would know. This isn’t me manipulating you, but the incentive is needed to keep us together for this time.”
The cold night breeze laced through our hair and whistled in our ears. I was reminded of how high we were and wasn’t afraid to fall. The unnatural lights from below surrounded us in a brilliant show of colors that could only come from the imagination of mankind. Above us was a different art piece. Swarms of stars came together in their majesty with their allure born in the mystery of their existence. Nostalgia poured down on me like raining tears, but like the stars were elusive in what it meant to me.
I heard Raya’s voice like an echo when she reluctantly said, “Well played.”
With the agreement settled, I returned the severed head to the casino as proof to help explain the situation. Raya objected only when I suggested going with only BD to keep tensions low. Thankfully, she understood that she wasn’t the best to bring. Mindplay would find a place for us to sleep. With nothing better to do, Raya went with him.
Before we went our separate ways, Raya gave me a bag to put the head in. After taking the bag, I didn’t say anything because I realized how crazy the situation was. I was bringing a living head to a casino run by vampires.
Remembering there was no turning back from my life choices, I eventually arrived at the casino, now packed with people. The ruckus that Raya and I caused didn’t disturb the business significantly. Unfortunately, as soon as I walked in, security guards approached me and told me to go with them. In my head, I knew I would get out of this predicament eventually, but I was praying in my heart that I didn’t break some kind of law.
I was taken to the second floor of the building and through some velvet double doors. Inside was a thin, flamboyant man with sunglasses and a wine glass in one hand. He was staring out a window into the neon city while flanked by two women with dark expressions. Their faces were shaded as if they were standing in shadow despite being in a brightly lit room.
Twilight Moon, the man at the window, spoke in a hottie, low tone with an undertone of sinister that made my hair stand on end. “Leave us,” he told security, and they quickly closed the doors.
Immediately after, the two women grew deer antlers, and deer skulls covered their faces. WENDIGOS.
The vampire continued to look at the view as he said. “Bold of you to come back after attempting to trash my establishment. You’re new, so I’ll give you some free advice. Being Claymore’s bloodhound doesn’t give you the right to do whatever you want.”
A pressure locked me in a place like I was ten feet underwater. It was the malicious intent of someone who was above my skill level. I smiled. Silently, I walked forward, doing my best to ignore the urge to cower to this person.
The wendigos growled as I got closer, but they were nothing compared to the vampire. Twilight Moon turned around as I dropped the bag on his desk. He was infuriated at first but became curious.
He waved at the wendigos to calm him down and said, “This better be an offer for my forgiveness.” I remained silent. His irritation started returning as he commanded one of the wendigos to open the bag. Once opened, they all reeled back in shock to see the head of their co-worker.
Twilight Moon shattered the glass on the desk in anger. Shouting, he asked, “What is the meaning of this?” His body crackled with energy. His eyes flashed red, and smoke was spewing from his body.
My heart was racing as the pressure grew. I couldn’t move, but I stared the vampire lord in the eyes. “It means you don’t have as much control as you think.”
This shocked Twilight Moon out of his rage, and I could adequately breathe again. I made sure BD was ok before I continued with the explanation. I told him about my reasoning for being in Vegas, how the red-haired vampire was working with Shadow Fang, and the abilities the red-haired vampire displayed.
Twilight Moon returned to his hottie deminer like nothing happened and began to think. “It seems the outlaw still has some followers.”
“Followers?” I asked. “I thought everyone hated Shadow Fang.”
The vampire lord looked at me like a dumb child. “Oh, you have a lot to learn. Do you really think Shadow Fang would have such a name if he didn’t earn it?” Seeing the confusion on my face, he reluctantly continued. “Shadow Fang is one of the oldest vampires with a lost name. A vampire lord like me.”
Shadow Fang was a lord? Not that it changed anything about capturing him. “So I was wrong. You guys don’t have a problem with him?”
“My point is he still has influence amongst our kin. I’ll have to report this to Dark Morning and search for anyone who might be a traitor. You may leave.”
I didn’t want to push my luck with the vampire lord by staying even if I wanted to ask more questions. I felt relieved once I was out of the casino.
I found the hotel Mindplay located for us to sleep in and passed out on the bed as soon as possible.
“This superhero gig is looking better than I thought,” I said while sitting in a VIP set on the plane to Brazil. Mindplay paid for the tickets just as he’s been doing for everything else. I had never bought plane tickets before myself, but hearing other people talk about the process, I was not sure how Mindplay managed to get the seats he did in such a short time. “Technopath,” he would say as if that explained everything, but BD, Raya, and I didn’t think it was that simple. That said, you can’t complain when you’re in a front-row seat of a public plane.
Mindplay responses to my statement. “Having connections helps, too. I wish I had a private plane, but even I admit that’s reaching.”
“You could’ve gotten a private plane?” Raya asked in disappointment.
“Technically, but that would take up too much time for something that wasn’t necessary.”
“It could have been necessary,” Raya mumbled.
“I’m just glad BD can transform the way she can. Otherwise, I would have had to get a private plane to avoid complications.”
BD, now in the form of a small black and white lizard, poked out of one of my pockets and said, “If you were concerned about me being in a cage, I wouldn’t have minded. It’s not like it could hold me.”
Mindplay shrugged as if to say, “fair point.” He was typing something on his computer.
Curious, I asked him, “How does your ability work?”
Mindplay stopped typing and looked back at me. “I can control the software of any piece of technology and manipulate code, among other things. I can’t do the same with firewalls and other protection programs. I can use my powers to dismantle them, but it’s not a fast process. Finally, I can understand the hardware of a piece of tech, but I still need a mechanical understanding of it.”
“That sounds overpowered.”
“It really isn’t that great. It’s useless in an environment with no technology, and I can’t use it to defend myself. It’s why I carry my gun and look for others to help me.”
Raya says, “A gun is still a gun. If you’re as proficient with it as I think you are, I don’t think it’s right to call yourself defenseless.”
“Even then, help is still helping.”
“What about you?” Raya asked me. “What exactly can you do?”
I replied, “As far as I can tell, I’m immune to most, if not all, physical damage, I have increased physical traits, and I have golden claws that can cut through a lot of materials.”
“Golden claws...” Raya said as if speaking her thoughts.
“Do you know something about it?”
“No. Just something to keep note of.”
BD then piped up with a squeak, “Ok then, what about you? What can you do?”
“I punch, kick, and slash things. That’s about it.”
“But it isn’t, though,” I said. Raya’s head snapped towards my direction, with eyes sharply staring at me. Quickly, I finished my thought. “W-what I’m saying is I’ve seen you fight. You don’t just stick to one style. You change your stances and styles on the fly. It seems like there’s more to what you can do, is all I meant.”
Raya seemed to relax before she started explaining. “I have learned different methods of fighting. There wasn’t one method I liked, so I learned them all by mixing them up to throw off my opponent.” We were all looking at Raya expectantly. “What? You don’t believe me?”
“No one said that,” said Mindplay defensively, “and no one was thinking it either. But anyone could tell that there was more to what you were saying. However, if that’s all you’re willing to give, there’s no reason to push. We all have a general idea of each other's abilities, so we can plan properly.” Mindplay went back to typing while Raya sat back in her chair, putting on headphones offered by the plane staff.
I turned my head to the window watching the sea of clouds with BD. My thoughts wandered to Chase the last time I saw him.
Are you ok? BD asked in my head.
Chase is working with Shadow Fang. I replied.
Does that anger you?
No. I told his father that I would try to convince him to go home if I found Chase. I’m wondering if I’ll get that chance.
BD crawled on my neck and increased her size to better snuggle up to the warmth. I pulled my hood up, and we watched the clouds silently roll.
------------
Cutrena was opening the store for the day but couldn’t bring herself to smile. Since yesterday evening, no one had seen Lilly causing the store owner to worry. As she brought the store to life with lights and music, she wondered if she was searching rather than selling a few albums. She was only working because Sarah and Fin were looking for Lilly, and someone had to be making money.
She sat behind the counter but was too anxious to read. Customers helped Cutrena pass the time and get off her phone. It wasn’t until it was nearly noon that her day was saved.
Coming into the store was Lilly, the small black and purple-haired girl with battle-worn clothes. Behind her was a young man with tattoos on his arms and was wearing a bomber jacket. Cutrena rushed Lilly, giving her a bone-crushing hug just before she began scolding the troublemaker.
“Do you know how worried we were? Why haven’t you contacted us? Where have you been?” Cutrena asked, frantically.
Lilly smiled as if nothing was wrong. “It’s fine, Auntie. Shade helped me get home safe.”
Cutrena looked up at the young man. She knew Shade, but he looked different this time around. He looked younger than before, and something else felt off, even if she couldn’t pinpoint what. There was another aspect about him that was familiar.
“Shade, did you enter the store yesterday?” she asked.
Shade squinted his eyes in confusion. “No. Why do you ask?”