Violet hated her life. Ohhhhh, how she hated her life. How many forms did she have to fill out? Seven? Eight? Too many. She hated paperwork. It was, and always would be, the worst part of her job. Werewolf? Terrifying, but quick. Hydra? Scary, but eventually could be outrun. Ghost? Well, they sucked but at least you could exorcise them. Vampires? Well, at least they usually flirted with you and you got some points to your self esteem even if they weren’t your type. Or they might threaten to dress you up in really pretty dresses and make your insides go all noodly.
But paperwork? Paperwork was forever. But it was finally done. Mostly. Now they were running it all and until they finished she had to rest in a big fancy room with stupid mirrors that might have three or four people waiting behind it, watching and probably judging her. Probably waiting to see if she did something like try to break out so they could press her with some kind of charges. She wanted her phone. She was so borrrrrred.
So she’d just rest her head on this big stupid table of theirs and wait for one of them to finally come and talk to her like adults. Violet had dealt with these far too often to be intimidated when she hadn’t done anything wrong. Well, nothing they could prove. Without dread, the whole thing was just mind numbing.
Violet was eventually shaken from her drowsiness by the door opening and an older man making his way inside. Almost instantly she felt pity for him. He looked like he hadn’t slept in three days, his mustache was more like a wilted dog over his lips and she bet under that fancy Security Force’s hat of his there’d be nothing more than a receding hairline. He looked human, though he’d definitely seen better days. In fact, he looked like he might even predate the whole Security Force’s founding.
“Violet, was it?” the man asked. “Chosen name? Pretty close to violent.”
“Well, I tried Violent first, but the N key on my keyboard was broken, so I went with Violet,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“I’m Detective Duke Donovan,” the man said before sitting down across from her. She tried to avoid snorting, but she couldn’t help it. Oh, that made farrrrr too much sense. He wasn’t old at all. Well, probably.
“Duke Donovan?” Violet asked. “Detective?”
“Mmm? What’s so funny?” he asked.
“Here you are teasing me about picking my name and you did the same, didn’t you?” Violet asked.
“What makes you say that?” Duke asked before eyeing her.
“I’m a hunter, which you know,” Violet said. “I deal with the weird and arcane all the time. Detective Duke Donovan just screams ‘I grabbed two D words because they went with detective,’ so my first guess is fae of some kind.” Yup, there it was, a bit of a smile on his lips. “But no. Most security forces get reallllllly antsy about letting fae interrogate and do questioning. Lots of ways to get anything uncovered there tossed out, so I don’t think a fae would be a detective. But in that vein. Mmmmm…”
“Go on, keep guessing,” Duke said before taking a drink from his mug. Ah, there it was. She couldn’t help but notice the way his mustache moved up when he drank from it, getting out of the way.
“Changeling?” Violet asked. “Ohhhh, that’s dirty. I do hope you’re not intending to try and read my mind or anything.”
“Madness lies down that route, reading the mind of a hunter usually just causes more headaches than it solves,” Duke said with a chuckle before his form began to shift and a far younger, more handsome face was staring back at her.
“I should warn you, I’m a lesbian,” Violet said. “So handsome boy won’t work on me.”
“Not a huge fan of the Security Forces, I take it?” Duke asked.
“Ehhhh,” Violet said with a shrug. “Some of you are alright? Others of you aren’t much better than the organization you were built to replace. I was hoping the former, but you’ve been making me wait long enough I’m starting to suspect the latter.”
“We were running a background check,” Duke said with a sigh.
“I have a license,” Violet said. “I’m authorized to use non-lethal force to detain creatures like that.”
“Barely non-lethal,” Duke said. “Though, I have to admit, it is partially my fault that this took so long. When we were looking through your record we realized you were connected directly to the Grapeland Swamps incident.”
Violet cringed and felt her stomach tightening into knots. Oh, that was never a good thing to hear from a member of the Security Forces. She tried to force her smile to stick, but it got so much harder. “Let me guess, you had some real estate up there? Listen, I was never found liable due to--” She stopped when he lifted a hand. Damn it. She was even sitting straighter now. Ugh. The last thing she wanted was to deal with another member of law enforcement with a personal vendetta against her.
“Actually, I didn’t own any real estate up there. I understand a lot of people were upset about what happened though,” Duke said. “Lot of people calling to have your license revoked.”
“Are you threatening me?” Violet asked. Great, day one and she’s already getting detectives over examining everything she did. Maybe she should see if she could get Scarlet to move. She knew far too well how much stress a petty bastard with the right connections could cause her.
“No,” Duke said. “That bus you ‘needlessly involved’ in the incident? My granddaughter was on it. College trip, you know how kids can be. She painted quite a different story of what you did than the media.” The smile he gave her, fake or not, was genuinely warm. Also, it put her on edge. He sounded almost positive about the whole experience. THAT was not the reaction she was used to at all.
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“Granddaughter?” Violet asked. “Right, changeling. How old you look doesn’t mean much, does it?”
“Not really,” Duke said before, once more, his face returned to that aged, droopy, tired look from before. “This one is closer, though. It makes people more comfortable if you seem to age like them. Do you intend to stay here long, Violet? Or would you prefer Miss Antonsen?”
“Yessssss? Violet is fine,” Violet said softly. “Wait, are you threatening me or warning me?”
“I just wanted to meet the young lady my granddaughter mentioned so fondly,” Duke said. “And not so much warning, just friendly advice. Try not to get involved in hunting down ghosts and ghouls while here, okay? You’re bound to put some smoke up the wrong nostrils if you do.”
“What?” Violet asked. “Wait, is this because of the werewolf? Who were they?”
“It isn’t about her,” Duke said. “The incident has been documented and your account has been credited for your assistance. Dotted all the I’s and crossed all the T’s as it were. But not everyone here is going to be quite as grateful for your assistance, Violet, so do try to keep your head down if you’re going to stay in the city limits. The last thing we need is a hunter who doesn’t know the area going off and causing who knows what kind of damage.”
“Uhhhh, okay,” Violet said, blinking a few times. “Thanks, I think? Duke, was it? Does that mean I’m free to go?”
“Of course. You can collect your belongings on the way out,” Duke said. “Do be careful, okay? I’d hate to find out you’re involved in some scandal in my city.”
“Of course,” Violet said before getting to her feet and heading out the door. Collecting her tools was oddly a lot easier than she was used to experiencing. Once she was outside, though, she took out her phone and started getting to work. A few missed calls, but she ignored them. Probably her mom again.
Time to put out some feelers on who had information on the local Security Forces. The last thing she needed right now was some weird detective trying to over-analyze everything she did. It might put Scarlet in danger if who she really was came to light. But hey, it never hurt to have somebody who she could reach out to if she did get involved in any more incidents.
After all, it wasn’t like Scarlet was dangerous. She was just a bit odd. How she’d ended up being just four bites away from Dracula, Violet could never imagine. Somebody in the line had to have screwed up. Here she thought the main bloodlines all prided themselves so firmly on only choosing the ‘most worthy’ to be their ‘children of the dark night’. Basically a bunch of over the top, dark and brooding types. All scowls, growls and magic most foul.
Meanwhile, Scarlet seemed anything but. A bit mean at times, but not cruel or vicious. Definitely not sadistic in a bad way. A bit nervous and shy, but nothing truly awful. If anything, Jasmine seemed to be the far, far scarier of the two. Was it part of their cover?
Her phone rang and she nearly yelped. Not because it rang, but because she knew that ringtone. She gulped and, very nervously, answered it. “Hi, Grandma,” she said softly. “Huh? Oh, I did? Sorry, I just got my phone back, haven’t checked the messages yet. Hm? Oh, uhhhh, yeah. It’s quite the story. Actually, I could use some advice.”
------
With a heavy heart, Violet pushed open the door to the manor and walked inside, her head hanging.
“You’re okay!” Scarlet suddenly yelled before nearly tackling her in a hug, clasping her face against her chest. “I was so worried! What happened? I was afraid you weren’t coming back!”
“Why wouldn’t I come back?” Violet asked. “I live here now. Also, uhhhh. You know you are hugging my face right into your boobs, right?”
“I am,” Scarlet said. “It’s okay, though. You’re cute when you blush.”
Violet sighed. Yep. This vampire was definitely somewhat evil. But not in a BAD way. Unfortunately, she wasn’t sure her grandmother would see that. She reached up to grip the vampire’s shoulders and, with more self restraint than she liked, tried to push her off. It didn’t work. “Scarlet, let go,” Violet said.
To her relief and mild disappointment, the vampire did. “Hm? What’s wrong? I thought you’d be happy for that. Is it because I’m not as gifted in that area?”
Violet gave another sigh. Yup. Definitely evil. She didn’t even have the energy to get flustered. “My grandmother is coming to meet you.”
“Wait, what?” Scarlet asked. “I am not quite up to date on all modern turn of phrases. Is that a threat or…?”
“No, literally. My grandmother. She’s a hunter, the one who trained me. Mom told her I was endorsing a vampire and now she’s on her way to make sure, and I quote, ‘I am not in over my head’.”
“Okay?” Scarlet said. “I won’t bite her or any--”
“My grandmother is Sofia Antonsen,” Violet said. “The Ash Maker.”
She had expected Scarlet to go pale. To look scared. To hide. She did not expect her to once more turn as red as her name. “W-w-wait. THE Ash Maker? A-as in--”
“Yes,” Violet said.
“Has a holy blade? Dust Scatterer?” Now the vampire was pacing.
“Yes. A rude little thing.”
“The poisoned blood?” Scarlet asked, her eyes almost wide as saucers.
“More or less,” Violet said.
“Slayer of the Entirety of the Bloody Skeleton Moon?” Scarlet asked.
“Yes?” Violet said, unable to keep the confusion out of her tone now. “Are you writing a book on her or something?”
“Wears super tight leather everywhere she goes?” Scarlet asked.
Violet’s eyes narrowed on the vampire. “No. No. Absolutely not. You did NOT have a crush on my grandma. You’re a VAMPIRE. She literally HUNTS your kind.”
“W-what? Noooo. No no. Absolutely not. I-I didn’t have a crush on your grandma or anything. T-that’d be weird,” Scarlet said sheepishly before quickly turning to walk away. “I-I’d better start cleaning. Oh dear. Maybe I should get another room ready? Oh, I need to call Jasmine. We’ll need another room ready if she’s here. And maybe see if we can get the lawn tended to first.”
Violet stared and her mouth fell open. No. NO. That wasn’t… NO. “You STILL have a crush on my grandma? WHY?”
“I can’t help it!” Scarlet said with a soft whine. “I’ve seen her only a few times but she’s so coooool!”
Violet just stared at the vampire for a few moments before sighing. “If she kills you, you’ve only got yourself to blame. I’m going to go raid the fridge.”
“I wonder what I should wear,” Scarlet said, obviously ignoring her. “Do I have anything nice enough? Oh, I really should have grabbed something while we were out.”
“Entirely your fault,” Violet said under her breath. She hoped she wouldn’t have to pay for those dresses after this fanged disaster of her’s got utterly destroyed.