At almost the same time in another part of the campus, Jett and Daeva walked out to the meeting place with Erica Montac. After possibly losing the First Spell, securing their flask of Aaragoth’s Fire was even more important. They were told to meet her in a secluded area in the middle of the night.
“Little Miss Montac is certainly embracing the cloak-and-dagger nature of our meeting, isn’t she?” Daeva said wryly as they arrived at the shadowy location.
“She’s always had a flare for the dramatic… if she put half that effort into common sense she and her family could be dangerous. Don’t be surprised if she keeps us waiting just a little too long just for effect.”
“You and her seem to have a history. Some bad blood there?”
“Not her specifically,” Jett paced around the small area, checking for any ways in or out that weren’t at first apparent. “Her family has had dealings with mine going back some time. We both hold a lot of influence on the Council of Blood. Daddy was possibly going to lead the council when Bea disappeared. More than a few people thought Clan Montac arranged it so that he would refuse the position.”
“Yes, but your unfounded accusations could never be proven, could they Princess?” Emily walked out of the shadows with a fang-filled grin. “Both our families were hurt by the loss of your sister in ways we couldn’t expect.”
“Yeah yeah, you and you’re family are a bunch of saints and not the exploitative snakes we all know you to be true.” Jett scowled at the girl, her disdain plain on her face.
“Well if you think so little of me perhaps I should just give this to someone else then?” Emily pulled a flask of amber-colored liquid from her coat. It glowed with a soft light of its own “There are always buyers for something so rare… in fact, I have already received interest from another party. Mayhaps we should negotiate a better price for my services, no?”
Darva wheeled on the vampire, her hand going to the whip at her belt. “Why you two-timing little slime…”
Jett held up her hand to stop her. “Easy there D, this isn’t unexpected… the Montacs have a long history of not quite dealing with things straight on the level.”
“And as you can see, ladies, I hold all the cards right now. You want your little ritual to go off without a hitch then you will up your offer… maybe some tears from your goth banshee friend. Or better yet her scream.” Emily’s eyes practically glowed with delight.
“How did you know it was for a ritual, Montac? We never mentioned what spell it was needed for.” Jett’s hand went to her back, resting her grip on her scythe waiting there, drawing comfort from the weapon’s presence.
“It seems I gave the game up too soon.. Very well, I know exactly what you need this for, and the others who also are in the market for the same stuff.” She pocketed the flask back into a pocket inside her trendy jacket. More style than substance, like she wasn’t anticipating a fight. “I am afraid that they made me a much better offer.”
A tall man emerged from the shadows behind Emily, carefully adjusting a pair of leather gloves on his hands as he walked. He appeared human but something felt… off… the way he moves was too quiet, too fluid…it was unnatural in every sense of the word.
“The two of you are on the wrong side of this upcoming dispute ladies… I am here to give you the option of repairing that misstep before it is too late.” The man’s voice echoed in whispers around the clearing, but his lips never moved. His eyes turned into black slits as his smile widened and widened until the freakish grin split his face in two.
“No thanks, freak boy.” Daeva unspooled her whip, dragging it in patterns on the grass as her heartbeat sped with the promise of a fight.
“You heard her, we’ll just take what we agreed and no one needs to get hurt.” Jett unslung her scythe, knowing her words would likely fall on deaf ears but she felt compelled to try.
“Good… for a moment I thought you two would make the smart decision and join the winning side.” Emily nearly cackled her laughter. “Once your father hears of the loss of his only remaining daughter he will be so distraught he will never be able to defend himself… and Clan Montac will raise to where we should have been all these decades.”
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“Only a fool counts on graves before they are filled, Emily…” With a cry Jett launched herself forward at the blonde girl, swinging her scythe for her neck but the strange man stepped in between them, his arms separating into dozens of black inky tentacles as a high-pitched squeal came from his mouth.
The tentacles lashed at Jett from seemingly every direction as she clove through them with her blade, only to have them replaced by more. Daeva stepped closer and with a flick of her wrist wrapped her whip around the man’s neck, pulling hard in an effort to pull him off balance but he was rooted to the spot. Even more tentacles exploded from where his chest had been launching with the speed of gunfire at Daeva.
The succubus dodged frantically as the sharp points at the ends of the tentacles drove into her with a concussive force, knocking her backward, Jett, meanwhile, swung her scythe in a wide arc, severing several of the twisted appendages assaulting her but almost as soon as she had they began to grow back.
“Don’t you ladies think you are a little out of your depth here?” Again the things voice echoed from the shadows around them. “There is still time to join the proper side of this.”
Jett charged again, dodging in and out of the whipping tentacles that lashed out at her body, not letting herself feel the pain until later, Daeva’s whip flashed out in the night, binding together the tentacles from the monster’s left arm even as it burst into flames, her whip burning and scalding the inky black things. Jett swung again, severing the group of them just beyond her friend’s whip, working together as they hoped cauterizing the wound might prevent it from regrowing.
It didn’t, the man’s entire form now was little more than a nest of wriggling tentacles, any attempt to appear human long gone, and Emily, standing behind him watching it all with gleeful abandon.
“This isn’t good, D, we need to end this now!” Jett sliced and cut through the dagger sharp tentacles as they flew at her, doing everything she could to avoid being completely overrun.
“Really? And here I thought we weren’t taking this nightmare down because we were having so much fun!” Daeva grabbed another tentacle, wrapping it with her whip and tearing it out at the base from the central mass. She leaped up, landing on one of the larger growths, and ran up it towards the core of the creature. The thing turned its attention to the charging succubus, striking at her with everything he could trying to fend her off.
With a grunt of effort, Jett forced her tired body into motion once more, spinning and twisting through the nexus of the writhing mass to capitalize on Daeva’s distraction. She was nearly within striking distance when the form of the blonde vampire appeared in front of her, rapier drawn.
“Guess I’ll have to do this myself then.” Emily dashed towards Jett as she swung her sword but the daughter of Clan Ravenscar had had more than enough this night. With a mighty slash, she cleaved the small sword in two, it dropping from Emily’s fingers as Jett reared back to finish her. She brought the blade down only to have the blonde girl yanked away at the last moment. Daeva had caught her with her whip and was pulling her away.
“No killing fellow students, remember! Automatic expulsion!” She called, desperately as she hauled the other vampire to safety. Much to Jett’s chagrin, she knew she was right.
“You’re not a student though…” She spun around as the mass of tentacles converged on her once again, slashing her scythe clean through the mass of writhing darkness at the center of the horror assaulting them.
The top third of what had once been a man slid off onto the ground, revealing a pulsing organ in the center of everything. It was black with bright red veins and it thrummed as if it were alive. Jett wiped the blood and viscera from her face as she hacked at the thing to free it, jamming the tip of her scythe into the organ and flinging it into the air.
“D! All yours!” Jett called, as her friend dropped Emily from the whip tied around her and struck out at the flying organ. She caught it in the whip’s coils and the flame ran down the length of it, engulfing the creature’s core in a blaze. The entire creature let out a huge cry in pain as its heart was engulfed by the fire.
The entire mass of things twitching nervelessly as the thing died. Inch by inch the tentacles curled up, turning into a charred mess and the two friends approached Emily as she was trying to sneak away from the area.
“Everyone will hear of this betrayal, Montac… the lack of honor you and your clan has will become legendary among vampire society.” Jett walked up behind the panicked girl.
“I was never going to give them anything… they threatened me if I didn’t bring that thing to find you.” Emily flipped over on the grass, trying to appear innocent even among the actions that spoke to the opposite.
“H…Here.”
Emily scrambled in her jacket, producing the glowing elixir they had wanted, and held it out to them with a shakey hand. Jett snatched the flask from her, picketing it in the same motion.
“If you are lucky your Clan will welcome you back, betrayer…” Jett hissed at the girl on the ground, her hatred obvious in every word. “Though your opportunistic family might just exile you in the hope that this does not reflect badly on them… and you know what happens to vampires not backed by the protection of a Clan.”
Emily nodded solemnly, the clans offered safety and protection… without one lone vampires had a tendency to disappear without a trace. Whether from hunters of other vampires or even something else no one was really sure but few but the most powerful would risk separating ties with their clans for any amount of time.
“Please Jett… don’t do this… I’ll be better. I swear.” Emily devolved into a blubbering begging on the ground before them.
“Keep that in mind, Emily… your future depends on what you do from now on.”