I sat on the roof of a run down apartment complex with my newest captives and took a bite out of the hotdog I had found on a plate at a nearby diner, still warm.
I looked down at the group of pixies in front of me, all tied up with the string of light I had used to catch them. I called it angel thread and it was one of the abilities that I had gained as my scars healed.
I liked pixies, always so cheerful and airheaded, these ones were a little more bloodthirsty than usual, but still cute. The pixies were about four inches tall and had translucent wings that seemed to flow through a rainbow of colors in the sunlight.
They all looked like really good-looking adults, with long flowing hair and fancy clothes like the ones I always saw in the expensive stores. There were four male pixies, three of them were huddled protectively around the single small female pixie while I tried to negotiate with their leader.
The leader stared up at me defiantly “We will tell you nothing foul creature!” He puffed his little chest out at me and I laughed. His face grew red with indignation “What’s so funny?” I managed to calm down and looked at him with a smile “You’re just so cute, I’m sorry. It’s like being threatened by a toy.” The other pixies gasped in shock, the leader struggled to break his bonds in rage with no success “You sir, are a racist. I am not cute, I am a deadly assassin sent here to claim your head and bring it back to-” He cut himself off and glared at me “I said I will tell you nothing and I meant it.”
I took another bite of my hotdog and stared at him “You’re not the first “assassins” to attack me. In the three months since I came to chicago I’ve been attacked by dwarves, ghosts, vampires, and a couple of minor demons. I didn’t let them live through the attempt, do you know why?”
Sweat started to bead on his forehead and he said “They had no honor?” I finished my hotdog and said “Can assassins have honor? Seems like honor might get in the way of all the poisoning and backstabbing. No, it's because I needed to send a message. Killing pixies doesn't make much of a point. I don’t want to kill you if I don't have to, so instead I think we should make a deal. Let's start with names. I'm Gray, what’s your name?”
The pixie said something quietly under his breath, I leaned closer “What was that?” He said it again and I still couldn’t hear “Speak up man, it’s just a name.” The other four pixies looked like they were struggling not to laugh when the leader pixie shouted “My name is Picklefizz alright!” The pixies burst out laughing and I had to choke back my own laugh for a second “Is that a…normal pixie name?” He glared at his friends and they went silent “No, my parents were just real asshats.” It was nice to know I wasn’t the only one with parent problems. Though, it would’ve been nice if my parents had taken the time to name me. On second thought, maybe Gray Midway isn't the worst name ever.
“Look Picklefizz, I need you to do something for me.” He licked his lips and said “Like what? You big types don’t usually need anything from the little guys.” I told him what I needed and Picklefizz's jaw dropped “Are you crazy? Why would you want to meet with him?”
I looked at him nonchalantly and said “I’ve heard he knows things.” Picklefizz backed up a step “Did you also hear he’s crazy? He’s a monster even by Faerie standards! I will not get involved in this madness!” I wrapped my hand around Picklefizz and shook him around. I put menace in my voice and said “You came here to kill me, but I’m letting you live. You’ll do it because if you don’t, I’ll eat the girl.” There was a collective high pitched pixie gasp and all the pixies began to struggle in their bonds.
I dropped Picklefizz and let the angel thread dissipate, snatching the female Pixie from the air before she could get out of range. She struggled and bit my index finger, causing blood to well. The blood made a sizzling sound as it touched her and she screamed in pain. I used my shirt to wipe the blood off of her before it could do anything but cause some light burns “Watch out little pixie, my blood’s a little too strong for a lightweight.” I turned and smacked two of the pixies out of the sky as they charged me. Picklefizz floated above me with a teeny tiny sword held in his hands “Let my sister go or be slain here and now!” I smirked at him and ran for the edge of the roof as I waved at him with my free hand “Remember Pickle, find out where he is or I spend tonight picking wings from my teeth.”
I jumped from the roof and fell the four stories to the alley below, careful not to crush my hostage as I stumbled over a sleeping bum and ran to get ready for school.
The Pixie looked like a blonde supermodel with a bad sunburn because of my blood. She was trembling with fear in my hand and I started to feel bad. I made it back to my newest residence in an abandoned pizzeria, you could still smell the crust. I pulled out a plastic chair and set the pixie on the table in front of me. She looked between me and the door then said “Are you really going to eat me?” I shrugged “It depends on your brother.” She looked down at her shoes and said “I’m bell.”
“You mean as in Tinker?” She huffed and glared at me “No, not as in Tinker, Bell as in Bellerana,” That was a shame, meeting Tinkerbell would've been kind of cool. “Well Bell, are you going to play along and be a good hostage or am I going to have to tie you up again?” She was still glaring at me but she nodded “I’ll be a good pixie for now. So what are you going to do until my brother gets back to you?”
I was worried about whether or not I’d be able to go through my normal routine with Bell here. I had an idea and told it to her, she was not pleased but it was the only way.
I waited outside of Belrose Junior high as the final bell rang and the kids were released. I saw my friends James and Baron walk out and waved to them. They noticed me and rushed over, James and Baron Morris were identical twins, both tall and gangly redheads cursed with a blizzard of freckles. They were also my only friends.
They stopped in front of me breathing hard, their gamer exercise regimen did not include cardio “Hey Baron, James. How’s things?” James caught his breath “Dude, why are you holding that doll in your hand?” He pointed at Bell who was doing an excellent doll impression in my right hand “Oh, this? I’m holding it for my little sister.” Baron and James both smirked at me and then at each other, James shook his head slowly “Look man, it’s fine if you play with dolls, we won’t tell a soul.” Baron had his arms crossed and was nodding his agreement. I sighed and said “Yeah, because you have so many people to tell. Let me name them, Baron, James, and that really handsome and all around smart guy, Gray.”
Baron laughed “Smart guy is right. Wanna come over and play some video games? We never got to finish our game of Super Death Eating Alien Wranglers 3.” I smiled “Sure, I’ve got some time to burn.” We headed to their house and started playing video games and eating microwave pizza. I had spent most of my time trying to discreetly pass Bell pizza without letting Baron and James see her eating, and because of it James was killing me in alien wrangles.
It was almost seven o’clock when Picklefizz came flying in through an open window, and got a little too close to Baron who smacked him with a flyswatter without even looking away from the screen “Hey Gray, could you get rid of that bug I just smacked? Damn dragonflies are always trying to get in here.”
I rushed over with Bell and grabbed Picklefizz off the carpet. “I’ll go throw this away.” I rushed out of the room and sat Picklefizz on the floor in front of me “Are you crazy or something? What if they had seen you?” The Pixie brushed a dead gnat off his shoulder “I don’t know what happened. I swear I was moving too fast for them to notice me.” I smirked “Never underestimate a gamer’s reflexes. Did you find him?” He puffed out his chest in pride “Of course I did, you’ll find your man in The Rusty Joker nightclub, he practically lives there.”
I raised an eyebrow in doubt. “You're sure of your source?” Picklefizz blustered “Of course, I'm a professional. Now give me my sister.” I released Bell and she caught her brother in a bone crushing embrace “I was so worried about you Pickle.” He returned her embrace and said “I was worried about me too. Now let’s blow this fudgesicle stand.” He and Bell started off and I waved at them “Wait, I just realized I don't know where the Rusty Joker is.” I caught a glimpse of Bell’s hand raising a very rude gesture and heard Picklefizz yell “Fuck off, I'm not a tour guide.” I told Baron and James that I had to go, I grabbed a bottle of grape soda from their emergency gaming supplies on my way out.
If I didn't know where the club was, I needed someone to help me find the Rusty Joker, I hadn't really had a chance to check out the supernatural side of the city. Luckily, there's always someone looking for me.
I stood in an empty lot and waited for night to fall. The sun disappeared over the horizon and almost on queue, a gang of vampire teens appeared. They had me surrounded. Eight vampires and all but one looked like they'd just come from a very sophisticated ball. My classes about vampires always stressed one thing above all, beware of armani. Vampires in armani were generally older and therefore stronger. The only other vampires I'd fought so far had dressed in something closer to goth chic and hadn't been all that impressive. I was interested to see the difference.
A vampire whose suit looked a little more expensive smiled and said “Have you taken leave of your sanity? I'd almost say you were waiting for us.”
I sat down my bottle of grape soda and said “I'm looking for a night on the town so I thought, who better than a vampire?”
The leader shrugged “Sorry boy, but you're a bit young for the kind of places we go. Maybe once you can shave. Pity you'll never live to see the day.”
I smirked and said “You don't think this is kind of unfair? I'm just a kid after all.”
The vampire laughed “Right you are. You can fight our newest initiate. He's young, but quite strong and we were thinking of raising him to the status of Elder. I suppose killing you will be as good a test as any.” He snapped his fingers and the vamp who wasn't as spruced up as the rest stepped into the center. He wasn't as tall as the others, only about my height. He wore a black hoodie with the words “Blood money” embossed on the front and dark jeans.
I looked at him and cracked my knuckles “If I win, you guys show me around town.” The vamp in the hoodie said “Deal.” He blurred forward and only my own super reflexes kept my head on my shoulders as I bent backwards out of the path of his clothesline. He was way faster than the other vampires I'd fought, unbelievably so. He had stopped and started to turn around when I turned my movement into a full on backflip. I kicked toward his head and he caught my foot in his hand, I brought my other foot down on his arm and he released the grip. We jumped apart and stared each other down.
His hood had fallen off and I was surprised to see he looked about my age. He had dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. The vamp grinned and spread his fingers out to show nails like claws. I looked down at my shoes and noticed blood trickling from a gash on the foot that he'd held. The other vamps started giving me hungry looks. I kicked my shoes off and watched his grin disappear as my foot healed. I said “You’re fast, but I don't lose when it comes to healing.”
He growled “Then I'll have to cut you apart faster.” He moved faster than my eyes could track and covered the space between us. His fist shot towards my face and I got my arms up in time, but the force of the blow shattered them. I went crashing through the circle of vamps and smashed heavily into the wall of a building across the street. Alright, he was way stronger than the other vampires I'd fought too. If all these old vampires fought like this, then I might have planned this wrong. The vamp jumped through the air and landed lightly in front of me. The bones in my arm healed just before I punched him in the face and his head snapped back. He recovered from the blow that had beheaded a troll just a week ago and it turned into an all out slugfest.
We battered each other relentlessly, super healing working double time to keep both of us standing. I was in a bad position, he kept my back up against the wall and anytime I blocked a blow, he'd switch to his claws and cut through muscle and bone. My only advantage was that I healed a good deal faster than him, but my stamina couldn't hold out forever. I let the claws of his right hand plant themselves in my shoulder and grabbed the offending limb. I squeezed and just as the bone broke, I whipped him through the air and right into the wall above me. He hit with a satisfying crunch and jerked his arm away from me. I spun away from the wall to see him crouching on all fours with his claws holding him steady. He climbed higher on the wall as if daring me to come after him.
I dug my fingers into the brick and pulled myself up after him. My fingers and toes easily made foot and handholds in the brick as I climbed.We sized each other up, circling like two wolves. We were both in pretty bad shape. The vamp’s wounds were clearly healing slower than at the start of the fight. I was breathing hard and my muscles shook from exertion. The vamp laughed “Getting tired? That's the thing about vampires, we never tire. Not as long as we maintain our diet.” He raised his hand and licked my blood from his claws. He wasn't fooling me though. I grinned “You're starting to bruise though, this might be a little too much damage for your healing to handle.” He was smiling like a maniac and for the first time I realized, so was I. There was something new about being able to fight as hard as you could without holding back. Facing an equal.
I rushed up the wall and we crashed into each other in midair, arms flailing faster than a human could see as our feet gripped the wall. I was starting to wear him down as the wounds I inflicted lasted longer and longer. I could feel victory coming into sight! I slid past a swipe aimed for my faced and hammered in a series of blows into his side that turned his ribs into a jigsaw puzzle. He reeled back in pain and kicked the wall where I was standing hard enough to shatter it. I lost my balance as my foothold disappeared and started to fall when a blazing pain shot through my stomach. I roared as spots formed in my eyes from agony.
I was upside down, the vamp had put his hand all the way through my stomach and pinned me to the wall like an insect in a display case. I vomited blood and stomach acid onto his arm and smiled at how hard that would be to wash out of his jacket. The vamp put his face close to mine and said “Now you can die for a good cause, my cause. Good fight chump.” I coughed up blood and asked “Are those other guys as strong as you are?” The vamp twisted his arm in my gut and sneered with pride “I’m much stronger than those scrubs. I just need them to get into the high society.”
I coughed and smiled “Good.” My angel thread wrapped around his neck and he yelped as the light burned his skin. The sick smell of burnt flesh filled my nostrils as he struggled to use his free hand to tear the thread away. He yelled as his hand sizzled on the thread. I sent a pulse of power through the thread and there was a bright flash. The vamp’s hand pulled out of my guts and we both fell to the ground. I landed on my knees next to the now unconscious and terribly scorched vampire. I let my angel thread fall away from the vamp and turned to his buddies who were all looking on in horror.
I smiled as my stomach healed and said “I win. Now a deal's a deal unless anyone else wants to try me.” The lead vampire swiped his hand through the air “You had an agreement with that whelp, we are bound by no such thing. You will die here.”
I made angel threads sprout from my fingers and flow towards the vampires along the street. “I can do this all day. Or maybe I should just kill your lackey here.”
The vampires backed away and the leader shouted “You will pay for this embarrassment. I will bathe in your blood. You may do what you please with that failure, I have no use for him!” The vampires turned and seemed to flicker away into the dark.
I looked down at my fighting buddy, he was already healing the burns on his skin. I wrapped my thread around him, trying not to let them make too much contact with his skin. The vamp woke up and saw that his friends had all left, he didn't look surprised. He looked up at me sullenly “No hard feelings?”
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I nodded “Nah, I had fun. Just help me get into a place called the Rusty Joker and we're cool.”
“Cool, but you're gonna need some new digs if you wanna get into a place like the Rusty Joker. There's a certain type of dress code.” I raised an eyebrow at him suspiciously “So you won't run if I let you go? You'll really help me?” He smiled “I've got nothing better to do, might as well hang with you. If the elders abandoned me then I'm basically shunned.”
“Well, now I feel kind of bad.”
He snorted “Don't. I was using them and I won't miss ’em a bit. My name's Cole.” I let the threads of light disappear and Cole stood up and stretched his limbs. I reached out my hand and shook his as he stretched. “I'm Gray, the most wanted boy in the supernatural world.”
Cole laughed “Most wanted? Your bounty may be high, but Balthrog The Destroyer has got you beat by at least a couple kingdoms worth. That kid's tearing his way across the realms of Niflheim, from what I've heard I'd hate to meet him in real life. Scary.”
“Whatever. I'm trying to get to the Rusty Joker before I get attacked again. Where are we going to get these clothes you were talking about?”
“Follow me. I'll let you borrow some stuff from my crib.” He blurred off down the street and I followed behind him. We turned off the street and through out of the city. I glanced back as the city faded away and we passed into a thick forest. Eventually we came up on a trail and Cole sped up. A huge mansion came into view and Cole turned off the trail and back into the trees. I ran after him when a hand shot out and knocked me off my feet, another hand covered my mouth before I could yell out and I was pushed into the bushes. Cole was next to me with a finger over his lips to quiet me. He looked out over the bush and then back to me “Alright, we gotta sneak in. Word won't be out about my banishment yet, but nothing with a heartbeat is allowed on the premises unless it's food.” I nodded “What happens if we get caught?”
“We run, it shouldn't be a problem though. Almost no one's gonna be here at night. They’ll all be hunting or partying.” Cole stood up and started running in the direction of the mansion, I followed him and we jumped over the fifteen foot rusted steel gate blocking the grounds.
The mansion was run down and collapsing in a couple of places, dead grass and weeds ruled the huge lawn. Cole veered toward the left as we sprinted across the lawn, he held up a hand to tell me to wait and circled toward the back. I stopped once I'd entered the shadow of the mansion and pressed myself against the wall. I slid along the wall and looked in the direction Cole had gone.
There was a big basement door hanging wide open with a group of vamp kids only a little younger than me hanging nearby. I quickly moved back to my hiding spot and listened. They were talking about Cole and the elders from earlier. I heard a girl's voice say “What do you guys think happened with Cole’s test? He didn't look very happy.” A boy's voice replied “I'd like to hear he failed if only to see him put in his place. That bastard hasn't been alive even three centuries and he thinks he's hot shit just because he's a little stronger than normal. I hope Elder Richard tore him a new one.”
Another boy piped up and said “So what will you do if Cole does become an elder? You'll have to do what he says.”
The first boy sounded outraged when he said “Like hell. I'd challenge the bastard long before I gave him the time of day! Can you believe it, Cole an Elder?” Suddenly Cole's voice popped into the conversation “Oh, yeah? Challenge accepted runt.” The first boy's voice lost its strength “I was just telling the gang here how excited I was for you. We uh- can't wait to hear the good news.” Cole snorted “I'm sure.” The girl's voice asked “Hey Cole, what's with all the clothes? Going to a party?” Cole paused for a second and said “Something like that. Keep up the watch. When you see the Elders, be sure to tell them you helped me to the best of your ability. They'll reward you.”
The kids all shouted their thanks and then Cole came rushing around the corner with an armful of clothes. I went rushing after him. I got alongside him and said “If you're shunned, won't they get in trouble for helping you?”
He smiled “Definitely.” And we laughed maniacally as we headed back for the city.
We arrived in front of the Rusty Joker after getting dressed and doing an okay job at getting some of the blood off of us, though Cole assured me that whatever was left would make us look more badass. As long as no one found out it was our own blood. Cole wore a red jacket over a black T-shirt with the words “There's someone in my refrigerator.”. He wore black designer jeans with a silver chain and heavy black boots. I wore a grey shirt with a cartoon vampire drinking blood from a can with a picture of prince Albert. I found some black jeans that came with a pretty cool silver chain and upside down cross hanging from the pocket. I'd also managed to squeeze into a pair of blood red sneakers, my feet were a little bigger than Cole's.
There was a line out front and a big bouncer watching the door and passing people through. I looked at Cole “I don't think we're going to be able to get in. Neither of us looks like we're on the right side of puberty for this place.” Cole put his hand on my shoulder to reassure me “No worries. This place cards people like us. Just show the bouncer your crazy and he'll let you in.”
I looked at him “My crazy?” Cole laughed and said “Watch this.” He cut in line and when he got up to the front the bouncer just sniffed at him. Then Cole flashed his fangs and the whites of his eyes turned crimson. The bouncer nodded and Cole walked right in. I hopped in line and waited till I got to the front. The bouncer raised an eyebrow featuring me to get on with it. I showed him my angel threads and he rolled his eyes “That's not going to cut it. Any normies can get some third rate gypsy to make them a little light spell. The only humans in here are food so unless you got something else to prove you're a super, get lost.” I clenched my fist and said “If that's not good enough, how about this?” I smashed my hand against the wall and cracks sprouted and ran along the brick until the whole wall was webbed. The other people in line behind me were laughing and shouting in surprise. The bouncer whistled, impressed “Go right in.”
Cole was waiting nearby with a smile on his face “We're in, now who was it you were trying to meet?”
I told him and his smile vanished “If you were looking to die, there are better ways to do it. Saner ways, less horrifying ways.”
“This isn't a suicide mission. I just need something very specific and he's the best there is. Now turn that frown upside down and help me find my mark.” The Rusty joker looked humble from the outside, but on the inside the party was turned to eleven. Witches used their wands to make strobe lights while wraiths breathed fog onto the dance floor from the rafters. The servers were all humans stolen from different time periods where hopefully no one was missing them. People were taking drinks from the servers trays and occasionally from the servers themselves.
Cole and I pushed our way passed to gyrating ghouls and Cole pointed me toward the VIP area in the back. I instantly spotted the person I'd been searching for sitting on a leather couch talking to himself and laughing. The Harlequin.
His face was frozen like a mask, every muscle pulled taut to form his mouth into an eternal smile. His eyes were large and unblinking. Yellow irises with green slitted pupils stared at me from across the room. His hair was a wild mass of braided red and blue locks. He wore a black trenchcoat over a red shirt with a purple tie and yellow pants. His boots were bright orange and he had on green leather gloves.
I cringed at the horrible clash of colors, but the anger that appeared in his gaze froze me. His voice traveled across the room to me like a whisper and when he talked, his lips would move just a bit and instead of teeth or a tongue, there was only darkness “You see something funny, kid.” It wasn't a question. Something about his voice seemed to try to force a laugh past my lips even though I knew it could mean death. I stayed silent. The anger disappeared and he laughed “I'm just fooling, kid. You and your little friend, come with me.” The Harlequin stood up and a curtain appeared on the wall behind him. He gestured for us to follow and then disappeared through the curtains. I followed after him, with Cole trailing reluctantly behind me.
We walked through the curtains and came out into a sealed stone room with skylight letting in the moon's glow. The Harlequin sat at a table in the middle of the room and asked “Now why would a little guy like you wanna make a deal with the Harlequin?” I let out a breath “I’m Gray Midway and I need you to hide me.” His eyebrows danced “I know who you are and that's why what you're asking is a bit of a tall order, kid.” he studied his gloved hands thoughtfully “Your presence is broadcasting to half the supernatural world and everyone tuned in on the channel wants a piece. So I guess my question is who are you hiding from exactly?”
“Um, Everyone?”
His smile grew inhumanly wide and I caught a brief glimpse of that dark abyss within. He said “Now we have a bit of a problem. You see, I'm very good at what I do. I can hide the dead from the reaper and trick gods out of divinity, but there ain't a whole lot of people who can do that. If someone like you just disappears, I'm on a very short list of people who can make it happen. That means I'm going to have some big names on my doorstep.” I started to get worried he was backing out “What kind of names?”
“The kind that drop whole civilizations on a whim. The kind that have a lot of free time to think of punishments for those who cross them.”
“Are you saying you won't do it?”
“I'm saying there will be a price. Tell me kid, can you pay my fee?” I nodded “My blood, right?” Cole who had been standing quietly subdued beside me said “Wait dude, your blood smells really good and all, like weirdly intoxicating, but I don't think something like that's going to be enough for this kind of thing.” He gave The Harlequin a suspicious glare and said “I've heard things.” The Harlequin laughed to both of our horror and said to Cole “I'm so glad my reputation precedes me, but actually a single cup of blood will do just fine. It's not everyday I make a deal with a nephilim, them being so rare and all.” I looked at the Harlequin and asked “What's a nephilim?” He scratched at one of his dreads and said “Angel and human half-breed, though I guess you only partially fit that description. They don't usually live very long, not with all the poachers.”
I bit my lip “That's why I'm here, now do we have a deal.” The Harlequin's eyes lit up, the green glowing bright as he said “Let's make a deal.” He laid down a wicked dagger and a hammer on the table across from each other. He stood silent, while I thought about how to word my request “I, Gray Midway charge you, the Harlequin to hide my presence from those who seek me out in exchange for one cup of my blood.” The Harlequin nodded “Grey Midway, in exchange for one cup of your blood, I shall hide you for as long as is within my power. Is this acceptable?”
“Yes.”
The Harlequin grinned in approval “Make your choice kid, by blood or bone this deal will be sealed.” I knew better than to make a blood deal with someone so shady and reached for the hammer, my hand touched the head of the hammer and I pulled back as my palm was split open in a spray of blood. The Harlequin laughed “Things are not always what they seem, our deal is made.” He picked the hammer up and licked the blood off “A unique vintage, I’ll come back tomorrow to hide you.” He started to walk away, I held my wrist out and said “Wait. What about the cup of blood?” he said “I’ll claim it in my own time.” and faded through the stone wall. I heard a weird slurping sound and turned around to see Cole greedily licking my blood off the table. He noticed me watching and stopped with an awkward chuckle “Sorry, this stuff is kind of addictive.” I cautioned him “Watch out. My blood can have some pretty adverse effects on lower races.” He snorted “Lower races? Actually, what exactly are you?”
“Part demon, part angel. Vampires are a lower race, sorry bro.”
“That’s racist and adverse effects my ass! I'm fine.”
“So far. Now let's get out of here.” We walked back through the curtain and walked into an empty club. Light filtered through one of the windows into a spot in the middle of the floor. Cole cursed “That room must've had faster time. It's already morning!”
Cole began to hyperventilate and tug on his collar as he stared at the puddle of light in the middle of the room. I grabbed his shoulders and tried to calm him down “Look, it's okay. You can just stay here until the sun goes back down. It's plenty dark in here.” He looked at all the areas untouched by light and seemed to calm down “You're right, you're right. I'll just stay here for the day.” I started to walk away and he caught my shoulder “I'm uh, kind of homeless. Any chance you know a place I can crash?” I smiled “Yeah, man. You can room with me for a bit. All the windows are tinted at the pizzeria and there's even a basement.” Cole nodded thankfully and let go. I left the nightclub after promising to come back and meet up before the club reopened and went dumpster diving for lunch.
I found some pretty good grub behind a buffet and used napkins to get last night's fashion blood off before I headed to school. I spent the day playing video games with Baron and James. James was explaining to me the benefits of using a type 2 plasma gun over the modified type 3 laser pistol for my character chart “You see Grey, the plasma gun has a longer recharge rate but is a much more lethal weapon than the laser pistol. The type 2 boasts higher accuracy overall even with the slower fire rate and travel speed. Baron, you agree right?” Baron looked over from his laptop “I don't know, the laser pistol has a better penetration rate on armored targets and if accuracy is a problem then a scope and grip change can do wonders.”
James groaned “I'm surrounded by idiots. Look, the chances of your target surviving a plasma shot are basically zer-” James stopped talking and fell to his side with a loud yawn. Baron was similarly slumped over at his laptop. I jumped to my feet and crouched low to the ground, letting my senses check for threats. No smell, no sound, not even a feel for whatever had just put my friends to sleep. I blinked and suddenly the world started to tilt, I fell to the floor and started to sink into the hardwood boards. I couldn't move, it was like quicksand! I held my breath and closed my eyes as I went under, when I opened my eyes I was lying on the floor of the pizzeria. The Harlequin stood above me drinking the grape soda I'd left “Time to play hide and seek, I never lose.” I stumbled to my feet, my brain felt like it had just been trapped in a pinball machine and the world was still trying to tilt. Just as I was feeling better, the ceiling seemed to pull in on itself and shake. I moved out of the way as Cole came crashing down with a terrified yell. He landed on his hands and knees and quickly scanned the room, his eyes lit up when he saw me and quickly darkened when they landed on the Harlequin.
He glared at the Harlequin and said “Next time you want to kidnap me, please don't.” The Harlequin didn't reply and looked at me “I brought you here because this place is yours. It will give me a better link. I brought your friend because I quite like him.” He rubbed his gloved hands against the wall and smiled. Cole shivered and took a step closer to me. I asked “So, what're you going to do?” The Harlequin snapped his fingers and the room fell into darkness. I put my defenses up on instinct and I felt Cole going on alert behind me.
A spotlight landed on the Harlequin and I looked up but couldn't find the light’s source. The Harlequin had moved a little further away and I noted that the room shouldn't have been big enough for him to gain that much space between us. The Harlequin's head bobbed drunkenly and it was like the room bobbed too. I took a step back unconsciously and tightened my jaw as the room began to shift more violently. I began to hear a melody just on the edges of my senses, like a soft wave lapping at the banks of a beach. I felt my mind going hazy, it was like some kind of hypnosis and my consciousness was slowly seeping away. Suddenly the gentle melody swelled into a violent flood and filled my mind almost as though it had been waiting for me to drop my guard. I felt intense nausea and could barely keep my balance. Silver fog had formed at his feet and was rising higher, beginning to block the Harlequin from view.
I couldn't move my body, I was trapped in the moment, a prisoner to this monstrous song and dance. Soon the fog covered him completely and the music began to rise to a volume so absolutely explosive that I thought I might cease to exist and be blown to nothing on the soundwaves. I managed to look down and catch a glimpse of myself, the silver fog was flowing from me like windblown clouds. I felt like I was losing my mind.
My soul screamed in horror at the unimaginably violent assault and I felt both my angel and demon halves revolt, energy flooded my body and I felt like a bomb was about to go off. My muscles tensed as if they could hold back the explosion through sheer strength alone and my body was racked with pain. Just as I felt the end coming I screamed and suddenly the music was gone. It was like a switch being flipped, the energy in my body vanished and I fell to the floor like a bag of jello. The lights came back and I struggled to rise. My body hadn't actually been hurt, my mind was still reeling.
I looked back to where the Harlequin had danced and saw a different figure. A young boy with hair like snow and icy blue eyes, skin that looked like it had never seen the sun and a mouth full of sharp teeth that would make a shark jealous. A face that couldn't simply be described as handsome or even beautiful. That face was more like a work of art than something natural, it was meant to tempt and trap, but it was also meant to soothe and save. It was my face, my real face.
The person who looked like me smiled and I saw Cole kneel with something like Gray worship in his eyes, humans wanted to serve me and I guess vampires were no different. Still human on some level. The other me spoke and it was in the Harlequin's voice. “So, what do you think?”
I looked him over impressed “It’s accurate, but why do you look like me?”
He said “I'm going to be your stunt double. I can't just make you disappear completely, that would be too inconspicuous. I'm copying your supernatural signal and amplifying it so that no one will be able to hear you over me. If you're a radio station, I'm the internet, a new tv show and your favorite movie rolled into one, everyone will be too busy looking at me to notice you.”
It sounded like a fine idea, but there was a problem “So you're going to run away as me forever?”
He laughed “I'll run away as long as I can, as part of the deal. I suggest you get that bounty off your head soon.”
I looked at him “How'd you know about the bounty on me?”
His gaze darkened and he said “Don't insult me, I knew about it the moment you came to meet me. Find the person who placed the bounty and get them to take it down, or kill them. No prize means the hunters will stop. Doesn't mean you won't always have people chasing you. Not everyone's in it for the money.”
“My mom placed the bounty on me, I definitely can't kill her. Besides, she's a demon. How am I supposed to find her?”
The Harlequin walked to the door of the pizzeria and said “Why don't you sin? I'm sure a demon will be near. By the way, if you want a demon to take interest, you'll have to do more than steal an old lady's purse.” Then he was gone in a blur of motion.