The ride to my apartment was smooth and quiet. Despite the violence from earlier, most of the city was still in sleep at this early hour. According to the clock in my car, it was just a hair past two in the morning.

I was right as I was looking at the time change that my hands started to shake. I gripped the steering wheel tight in my hands, focusing my eyes back to the street I was driving down. I was no strange to panic attacks, having had more than my share in my life, but the one that was hitting me now was another beast entirely. All I could do is focus on breathing, the feel of the steering wheel in my hands, and try not to crash the car.

By the time I was pulling into the parking lot behind my dilapidated building, it had finally passed. Once or twice I had considered waking up Max to talk me through it. It had only taken a look at him snoring away in the seat next to me to discard that option. I also decided that, rather than call Henry, I would knock on his door once everyone else was situated in my place. After all, better Max get his sleep in now since I might need his help later tonight and tomorrow, what with our elf prisoner and everything.

Turning off the car, I looked behind my seat to see that Franz had woken up. It took me a second, but I realized the grimace on his face was not due to the pain he was in. He pointed at his brother, exaggeratedly miming snoring.

I snorted at his expression. Then gestured for him to lean forward, and made a motion for him to smack the back of his brothers head. Not wanting to be in the line of fire if Max woke up swinging, I got out of the car. Right as I closed the door, Franz struck.

I smiled at Max’s swearing about being woken so rudely. That would teach him for snoring the entire drive here.

Opening up his own door, Max got out. Shooting me a glare, he rubbed the side of his face where a red welt was starting to rise. He knew I had been the one to instigate that, so I knew he’d get me back later. Max opened the door for his brother, grabbed Franz by his arms, and helped him out. Franz, while conscious and still possessing a sense of humor, was clearly weak from pain and blood loss. At least for the moment the bleeding had stopped.

“Go on in, I’ll be right behind you.”

“Don’t take too long,” Max said, helping Franz towards the back door to my apartment building. “If you aren’t up there in ten minutes, I am going to come looking for you. Not making it this far only to lose you too.”

“If I am not there in ten minutes, it is because I am helping the doctor bring his things to my place to take care of you both.”

“What about…you know.” He jerked a thumb towards the trunk of my car.

“I’m just going to tie them up for now,” I said moving to the trunk, “I’ll get them once Henry is awake and taking care of you both.”

Grunting agreement, the brothers hobbled along towards the building. Since they had been to my place before, they knew where they were going, as well as the location of the key I hid under my welcome mat. Not exactly the smartest thing to do on this side of the city, but once the fact I was the newest member of the Night Wolves made its way around the apartment complex, no one was crazy enough to take advantage of my lack of security.

Of course, with what happened to Wilhelm and a good chunk of my gang’s membership tonight, I’d be taking that key inside with me for now on.

Taking a moment to gather my wits, I pulled out the hunting knife I hadn’t had a chance to use in the fight against the elves. Reaching down with my free hand, I gently grasped the handle of the trunk, then jerked it open. Knife raised, ready to strike, I saw something in the trunk I absolutely did not expect.

The elf was a woman.

Though I had driven as gently as I could on the way to my place, more for the sake of the brothers than the elf I will admit, apparently the ride had been bumpy enough that the tightly fastened hood had come loose from around her face. I’d also admit it was a pretty face. It was angular and framed by white shoulder-length hair, with ears delicately emerging from either side of her head. Two gold rings pierced the upper parts of each ear. I gently touched her neck, feeling for a pulse. It was there, slow and steady in sleep.

Realizing I was staring at an elven woman, who had both tried to kill me earlier that same night and who I had not hesitated in knocking out to then kidnap, I forced myself to stop gawking and get to what I needed to do. Specifically, tie her hands and feet together so she wouldn’t be able to get out of the car before I got back.

Taking my hand off the side of her neck, I fished around in the other side of the trunk for a minute before finally finding what I needed. Pulling out a few spare shirts, I began ripping strips to turn into ties to secure her with. Though she did stir once when I rolled her over, I was able to secure her quickly. Done with what I needed to do, I closed the trunk again. After locking the car up, I made my way inside.

Much like the outside, the inside of the apartment building had seen better days. The paint was faded and chipped, and there were water-stains down many of the walls that I walked past on my way to the inner stairwell. I don’t even know how many decades ago it had been built.

But it was home.

Like much of the rest of the territory that the Night Wolves had taken over as their own, the majority of people who lived here were working class people with German or European roots. That being said, people from other demographics had been gradually moving in over the past decade or so. Especially as the older generation started passing on. Most simply struggled in their daily grind to survive. Which had grown harder as the economy slowed down. Or at least that is what everyone assumed.

After the violence of tonight, I was not so sure anymore.

Lost in my thoughts, I almost passed by Henry’s door, so used to I was walking the extra few dozen to my own. Though likely in bed for some time now, I knew he was a light sleeper. I knocked on his door. Just like I thought, it only took a few minutes before he was unlatching the locks and pulling it open.

Henry was, like many people on this floor, of German descent. A shorter man, he was rubbing his wrinkled face before setting his glasses on his nose to look up at me.

“Jakob? What are you doing at my door so late?” his eyes started to focus, where they visibly widened upon catching sight of the blood and soot on me. “Good lord, what the hell happened to you?!”

“Peace meeting went wrong. Wilhelm and a good number of other Night Wolves are dead,” I said, leading with the devastating news. Before Henry could express his shock, I continued, “But I can tell you more about that later. For now, I need you to get any medical supplies you have and go to my apartment to stitch up Max and Franz. Can you do that?”

“Y-yes, of course. Of course.” Henry darted back into his apartment, moving quickly for his old age. He called back over his shoulder, “I won’t be but a minute!”

“Door is unlocked,” I called after him, “I have to grab something from my car, then I’ll be up and you can look at me too.”

When all I got was some muffled response from deep within Henry’s apartment, I decided I wasn’t needed by the doctor for the moment. Henry had always been dependable in the past, and I well knew that he had a range of medical supplies on hand. Some from his time practicing, though more was now from the medical sales he occasionally engaged in for some companies owned by friends. When I had asked him about it, and why if he had so much money he lived in a apartment building like this, he had said that he had lived in this area his entire life and he would be damned before he left it now. I thought there might have been a bit more to it than that, but I respected him too much to pry into it. His business could stay his business as far as I was concerned. Henry had always felt the same in regards to me and mine.

Trusting that the doctor knew his business, and that he wouldn’t get lost on the short walk to my apartment to take care of the brothers, I made my way back down to the lobby. It was a bit slower going making my way back down to my car. Less because the steps and more from how tired I was getting. The long day leading up to the meeting, then the violent fighting, followed by a decent drive all added up to a significant amount of stress and exhaustion. But I pushed through. Soon as I got my last passenger up into my apartment, and secured her, I’d be able to sleep for a bit. Maybe a day or two. Hopefully.

Not completely losing my wits, I looked around the parking lot as I walked to my car. Much like I expected, there was still no one out and about. Even the earliest risers were two hours away from starting their day.

Coming back to the trunk of my car, I fumbled with my keys a few times. Finally, I got them into the lock. Turning them, I lifted it open. In the process of doing so, I almost cursed that I hadn’t taken my knife back out. I half expected to be attacked before I even got it open. Luckily I wasn’t.

The elven woman was still asleep in the position I had left her tied up in. As I moved to pick her up, I noticed her hands had gotten a tad bit more pale. Tied her too tight. I’d loosen them a bit once I got her into my apartment and secured to a chair. Grunting, I tried to lift her body to rest it on my shoulders. I was just too tired, so I settled for another princess carry.

Using my elbow, I closed the trunk again, not bothering to lock it this time. Nothing of value was in my trunk. Hell, nothing of real value was in my entire car. At this point I was just ready to be done for the night. Right foot. Left foot. I just focused on that as I carried her inside.

The last thing I heard before getting back into the apartment building was the distant sound of sirens. Hopefully the fire department put out the fire soon. Actually, maybe a bit more of a delay would be nice. Not sure it would be good if they found the dead elves before they were ash. The door gently closed behind me, sealing out the night.

When I finally made it to my apartment, the first thing I saw was Max eating a sandwich at my kitchen table while Henry stitched up the cut in his side. The wince that Max gave as I came into the apartment was definitely because Henry had poked him with the needle in shock upon seeing the elf captive. I know Max would never be embarrassed about taking my food. He had done that plenty in the past.

“What is she?!” Henry asked loudly, pausing in his work as I carried the elf in to my apartment.

“One of the elves that attacked us tonight,” I shook my head before Henry could ask any more questions, “I’ll fill you in more later. More importantly, how is Franz?”

“Good, because I have a damn lot of questions” Henry responded as he started stitching up Max’s wound again, “He lost quite a bit of blood, but I have him stable for now. Lucky for him I had some IV bags on hand. He’s sleeping in your bed right now, but I’ll check him in a bit. He should be fine until we can get him to a proper hospital tomorrow.”

“Are you sure he needs a hospital?” Max asked.

“Yes, I do,” Henry said, finishing up his stitches, “if you’re worried about the questions, just say it was a construction accident. It certainly looks like it was a saw blade that pierced him.”

“Thanks, Doctor, we appreciate it.” I moved to go deposit the elf in my living room chair.

I characterized the living room, like the rest of my apartment, as being new-age poor. You know, not much in decor and what I did have was secondhand, The furniture was scuffed and dinged up, though my couch was pretty comfortable if you didn’t mind the slight indents from where previous owners had sat thousands of times before. Also, while I didn’t have a television, I did enjoy the small shelf of books and novels I’d set up in the corner whenever I had a little downtime. When you came into my place, everything carried with it just the slightest feeling that what I already had was the best I could likely ever hope for.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you, Jakob. I’ll be with you in a minute,” Henry called after me, “and I expect some answers.”

I wanted answers too, but I knew I wouldn’t be getting any until the elven woman woke up. Maybe not even then. I could always try to beat the answers out of her, but I knew I would never be able to do that. Much like Wilhelm, I didn’t believe in hurting women. That even applied to captured elven women that previously tried to kill me. Shaking my head again at the strange situation I found myself in, I set her in the chair. Leaning down, I looked at how I could tie her ankles to the chair legs. That was my second mistake.

My first was failing to check if she had woken up.

I got the briefest glimpse of green eyes looking down at me before her knee connected with my head, knocking me back and to the floor. Before I knew it she was straddling me, a small knife raised to strike down at my face. Must have had it hidden on her person. My right hand darted up for the blade, while my left grasped for anything on my assailant to get leverage.

I was able to get a firm grip on the knife, as well as something else a bit softer than I was expecting. I blushed as I realized I had grabbed the elven woman’s chest through her baggy clothes. From the look on her face, I was surprised I hadn’t already caught fire and died. But at least she had stopped trying to stab me for a moment. She glared down at me, not moving in shock at what I had just done.

“I, ah, was trying to grab your shoulder,” I said hesitantly, “to stop you from stabbing me, I mean.”

“Remove. Your. Hand.” Her voice was soft with a higher pitch, but the anger conveyed by those words was almost physical.

I quickly did so, though only to move my hand to her shoulder. While I was as uncomfortable as she was with having just grabbed…her… there was no way I was giving up all my leverage to an elven woman in the process of trying to stab me. How many times was that tonight? At least twice now. Maybe three times.

“If you stop trying to stab me, we can get up out of this position.”

“And give you the opportunity to attack me from a more advantageous position?” she scoffed. “Not likely.”

“Suit yourself,” my mouth continued moving without conscious input from me. Sometimes it did that when I was stressed. “At least the view is nice from down here.”

“YOU—!”

“I’d put the knife down and get off him, if I were you.”

I turned my head to look back towards the kitchen. Max stood there, leading against the wall, pistol out and shakily aimed at the elven woman on top of me. He was sweating, and clearly having a hard time focusing, but his grip on his gun was firm.

“Fine,” the elven woman spat.

Loosening her grip on the knife in her hand, the blade rotated away from my face to point out towards the wall. I flinched as it did so, as it nicked my thumb in passing. My fist tensed reflexively, causing the blade to shift again, though this time cutting her palm. There was a brief searing pain in my hand, causing me to grunt. She grunted as well, but it seemed less from pain and more…surprise?

She leaned back from me, allowing me to get up. Releasing the knife, she slumped back into the chair I had previously been attempting to tie her too. I slid it into my pocket, being careful due to how sharp it was. Before I could do anything else, Max dropped his pistol to clatter against the floor. Sliding down the wall he had been leaning against, his eyes went out of focus before closing all together. I’d have said he was dead if I couldn’t see his chest still rising and falling from where I stood.

“Poison.”

I turned back towards her, “What do you mean, poison?”

“The elf you killed in the hall, he poisoned all his blades before any fight. You friend has only a few days left at best.” The elven woman was relaxing in the chair, eyes still fixed on Max after she had spoken. She gave me a predatory grin, flashing incisors much longer than those humans had. “Unless you can get him the antidote, that is.”

Dread turned into a small spark of hope in my chest. I stamped down on it quickly, hoping nothing of it had showed on my face. Shit, her grin was getting wider. While I knew she would want something in return, otherwise why bring it up, but I had to know.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

“Do you know where to get an antidote?” I cut her off before she could answer. “Enough for two?”

“Two?” she asked, confused. “Why would you need enough for two?”

“His brother was cut with the same blade at least once during the fight.”

She raised a long finger to her face in thought. Looking me up and down, she seemed to come to a decision. “Answer some questions for me, and I’ll make a deal with you that will save your subordinates in exchange for my life.”

“Not subordinates,” I argued, “they are my friends.”

“Subordinates. Friends. It doesn’t matter to me,” she waved her hands dismissively, then her smile disappeared. “Do we have a deal?”

I took a moment to decide my options. Any deal with her might mean I would be unable to get any information about what was going on in Chicago, unless she volunteered it. But if I did not take her up on it, the odds of me finding or making an antidote to poison made by an elf was worse than none. In school I hadn’t been any good at chemistry. Though I guess the more important point is that the poison was made by a being that I had thought only ever existed in stories. I had no other option if I wanted to save the brothers, so I did not hesitate. Max and Franz were worth more to me alive than any answers I might have gotten from her.

“Deal.”

I rushed over to Max, double-checking that he was indeed still breathing. Picking him up, I got him back into the kitchen seat he had recently vacated. Henry was in the process of coming back out of my bedroom. He had apparently missed the whole situation. His face grew concerned as I sat the limp form of Max back down.

“Poison,” I said shortly, “I’m working on getting us the antidote for both of them. Watch him for me.”

Without waiting for a response, I was back into the living room. To no small amount of surprise, the elven woman was still sitting comfortably in my chair. I thought for sure she would have tried to leave or attack. Rather than being reassured I was now more worried. She must really have wanted something.

“Wonderful,” the fanged grin was back on her face as I came back into the room. “Just a few questions then. Then I’ll tell you about the cure, and after that you will make a decision.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, but she cut me off.

“No, no. Questions first.” She leaned back in my chair, her one hand idly rubbing the spot on her hand where my blood had stained her hand after being cut by her knife. “Now, where am I?”

“My apartment. What is your name?” I asked quickly. Her face took on a scowl, though even so it was still one of the most beautiful I had ever seen. “What? It is only fair I know who I am talking with.”

“Natasha,” she said slowly. Natasha looked almost startled that I had even bothered to ask. She shook it off quickly though. “How far is this apartment away from where I almost killed you?”

“About a twenty minute drive from the place I nearly beat you to a pulp.” I answered while correcting her. While it hadn’t been a one-sided fight, I was not going to give up the fact that I had come out on top.

“Agree to disagree,” she said, indifferent to my response. Despite her tone, I could tell she was frustrated at the fact that I had been able to beat her. “Before you left, was everyone else in my group dead or did they escape?”

“Dead, I made sure to check before we left,” I responded, somewhat confused. While the question itself made sense, the tone she had asked it in was anything but normal. It had almost sounded…hopeful?

“Then that is all I need to know right now.”

I stared at her as the silence lengthened between us. Was that really it? Didn’t she have more questions? Surely there had to be something else she needed, even wanted to know. Despite her eyes darting around the room briefly before coming back to rest on my face, she didn’t say anything else for a good few minutes.

“Well?” Natasha finally prompted.

“‘Well’ what?”

She grumbled something under her breath at my response. While I couldn’t make it out entirely, I thought I caught something about men being frustrating no matter their race. “Did you read over the quest information I sent you yet?”

“…What quest information?” Was this elf crazy?

“You know,” Natasha pointed one long, delicate finger at her green eyes, “the quest information that should have popped up in you iHUD.”

“What is an iHUD?” I asked, totally bewildered.

She stared at me, mouth open and completely flummoxed. Finally she snapped her fingers and gave me a beaming grin. I was starting to get used to her sharp teeth.

“That’s right, you wouldn’t know. Well congratulations…” Natasha was waving her hands in excitement, before abruptly stopping again. “Ahh… What did you say your name was again?”

“My name is Jakob,” I said slowly, still not sure where she was going with this.

“Right,” she waved her hands again, “Congratulations Jakob, by surviving the fight earlier against my kin, you will have successfully unlocked access to the iHUD. Simply close your eyes and think ‘iHUD Activate’ to access it the first time.”

When I didn’t immediately close my eyes, since I was still somewhat sure Natasha was crazy, I eventually did at her continued gestures for me to do so. I felt more than a bit foolish standing there with my eyes closed. Not only was this elven woman telling me what to do, but she had also recently tried to kill me in my own apartment no less. Either I was a bit more open to trusting people than I thought, or I was just so exhausted by this point that I didn’t even care. So far she hadn’t done anything untoward since we had come to an understanding, but if I thought about it logically, this would be the perfect opportunity. I opened my right eye slightly to check to see if she had moved.

Natasha was standing right in front of me, her face barely an inch away from my own.

“Fuck!” I jerked back, startled at finding her so close. She wasn’t making any hostile actions, just standing there, but still.

“Well?” Natasha asked again, not moving except for raising an eyebrow in question.

“No, not yet,” I tried to calm my racing heart, “give me another minute. Actually, if you could sit in the chair?”

“Fine.” She spun with a pout, moving back to the chair where she flopped down on it, baggy clothes briefly billowing around her form. Long legs were revealed then quickly covered again. I’m not sure why I noticed them, but I did. “Go ahead then, I’ll sit right here until you are ready to talk.”

“Thank you,” I closed my eyes again. What was the phrase again? I opened my eyes, but before I could ask she was talking again.

“Really? It’s ‘iHUD Activate’.” She said, a trace of irritation in her voice at answering my unvoiced question. She was grumbling again. Something about new world imbeciles, whatever that meant. Composing herself, she leaned back further in the chair. “Focus as hard as you can on ’Status’ after you do that and you will understand.”

“Right, sorry.”

I thought to myself ‘iHUD Activate,’ and as soon as I did it was like sparks went off in my head. A headache I hadn’t even known I had, so gradual had it come on, was gone in seconds. I felt lighter in a way I didn’t know was possible. Like living an entire life carrying around an unseen backpack full of bricks, only to be told out of nowhere that I could set it down. I felt good, if still a bit exhausted from the long night.

Mentally shaking myself, I remembered the other direction she had given me. I thought about my ‘Status’, and wonder of wonders a screen popped up. It didn’t go away either when I opened my eyes. In fact, it moved with them as I glanced around the room.

Name - Jakob Wagner

Race - Human

Class - Warlock (Blood)

Profession(s) - N/A

Strength - 15

Dexterity - 12

Endurance - 14

Vitality - 12

Intelligence - 9

Wisdom - 11

Charisma - 11

Luck - 6

Abilities

Blood Bond: locked - pending current acceptance

Bloodburst: direct at ally to heal damage or at enemy to cause damage based on intent; does not clear status ailments

Given everything that had happened so far tonight, the fact that my status was roughly the same format as some of the novels I had on my small shelf in the living room was a bit reassuring. I recognized each of the different attributes and could easily piece together what they likely meant. My low luck, assuming ten to be the general average, would explain why I’d always had so many issues getting ahead in my life. My class of Warlock was a surprise to say the least, but it was possibly a reflection of some old family history my now dead uncle had told me about once. Dark things had supposedly been in my family tree. I guess at least some of it was true.

The only things I weren’t so sure about were the abilities. Blood Bond didn’t have much information with it, only that it was apparently in use. On the other hand, Bloodburst was a bit clearer in description, but I had no idea how to use it. Yet.

Before I could look my status over too much, something else drew my attention. A flashing icon that was labeled ‘Quests’ at the corner of my vision. Focusing on it briefly caused it to open, displaying the quest Natasha had mentioned.

Quest: An Agreement With Natasha Moonblight

The beautiful and deadly dark elf assassin Natasha Moonblight has been cut off from her home and family since being taken to your planet in preparation for the coming initiation into the Framework. Having been captured in combat, she offers you information and assistance in exchange for your agreement to protect her.

Conditions for success:

Give your binding word that you will protect Natasha.

Rewards:

Assistance getting a cure for the poison afflicting your friends.

Blood Bond with Natasha.

Accept/Decline Quest?

Having already made up my mind, I mentally accepted it. That being said, when I minimized my iHUD, I already knew the first question I was going to ask.

“Is that why you said I had a decision to make. This ‘Blood Bond’?”

“Yes,” she nodded, lifting her bloody hand after having visibly relaxed when she got the notification I had accepted the quest. “The mixing of your blood with mine was quite the surprise, but it was your decision as to what would happen with the bond. While I could accept from my side, you had to from yours for it to take.”

“You sound familiar with the ability.” At her nod I continued, “So what is it?”

“It is a variation on an ability that most Warlocks have where they create a binding pact with beings they summon or contract,” seeing my look of concern, she hurriedly continued, “but don’t worry, it's only binding to the extent each of us agrees to it. It comes with a few minor benefits to both bound parties, but the main one applicable to our situation is it prevents either of us from willfully harming the other.”

“Ah, I see what you mean now about making an important choice,” I said. “So, by accepting your quest, I essentially accepted your bond and promised not to harm you?”

“Yes, that is correct. Should you change your mind on that, I would get a notification before you could break the bond, giving me time to act or to flee.”

“As I would get the same,” I pointed out.

“Exactly so,” she said with a sharp grin.

Understanding the Blood Bond, at least in part, led me to appreciate how useful it might be. I had noticed Natasha had not specified harm as being only physical in nature though, nor how the Blood Bond itself was enforced in the face of violations. I would have to be careful how we interacted going forward until I knew more.

Which raised another question for me.

“What would have happened if I had rejected the quest?”

“Well,” Her face went cold and grim, no trace of the smiling, almost giggly woman left in it. She pulled another secreted knife out from under her baggy clothes. I really did not do a good job searching her for weapons. “If you had declined the quest, then I’d have known immediately that you didn’t intend to let me live. The bond would not have been made, and I would have attacked right away.”

“But I did,” I said, once again taken off guard at how quickly Natasha took on the mien of a killer.

“Yes, you did, and now with all that taken care of, I think you owe your healer friend a conversation.” Natasha put her knife back away and made her way over to the couch. “I am going to sleep, we can talk more about the cure, and our future, after a good night’s sleep.”

She laid down on the couch, facing the wall, making it perfectly clear she would not be talking anymore tonight. I was sure she was still awake and listening, but honestly I was ready for sleep myself. Just one more thing to take care of first.

Henry was sitting, waiting for me at the table in my kitchen. He had helped himself to my fridge, pouring himself a glass of milk. Trust a doctor to pick the healthier choice, even when I still had some cold beer in there. Then again, it was extremely late.

“I put Max into your bed with his brother. Both are sleeping now, as comfortable as I can get them.” Henry took a long drink from his glass of milk, then wiped his short mustache with the back of his hand, “So what is this about a poison?”

While I knew Henry was likely champing at the bit to find out what had happened tonight, let alone what a mythical being was doing sleeping on my couch, I appreciated that his first question was the one that related to the care of his patients.

“The elf Max and Franz fought tonight used poison on his blades according to Natasha,” seeing Henry’s eyebrow arch in question, I explained further. “Natasha is the elven woman I brought in earlier. We’ve come to an arrangement where she will help us get access to a cure to save them. Apparently we have only a few days to do so before the poison runs its course.”

“I see, that is good at least,” the doctor said, letting out a breath in relief. While his patients weren’t out of the woods yet, it was clear that he was relieved that we all weren’t relying on him alone. “Alright, so you mind telling me what the hell happened tonight?”

As I launched into the conversation, he stepped over to inspect my wounds, going over each to make sure they were clean or to check if they needed stitches. I gave him the general overview of what had been happening with the Night Wolves, including how several of our members had turned up dead and how all the signs had pointed to a new gang in town trying to push us out. How Wilhelm had arranged a meeting to make peace with the group, and how the enemy gang had immediately tried to kill us all. I admitted to him that, in hindsight, they had likely agreed to the meeting to get the majority of us in one place to take us all out at once. After telling him about how we had only discovered they were dark elves after the fight was over, I concluded my story by sharing how I had knocked Natasha out after she had grabbed my ankle then brought us all back here. Oh, and if that was not enough, apparently the world was starting to go through a massive change and soon dark elves killing people would be the least of our worries. Other than that, he knew exactly as much as I did.

“So not only is Wilhelm and most of the Night Wolves dead, but you’re telling me the world is going to become like a videogame that my grandchildren play? Only a lot more threats and risks?”

You could tell by the look in his eyes that Henry was having a real hard time here adjusting to the new world we were apparently heading towards. The glass of milk was long empty, and he was nervously tapping his fingers on the table. The sound of his nails hitting the old, scuffed wood was like he was chipping away at the varnish of the old world to get at the new.

“Yes, though again, I don’t know much more than that at the moment,” I rubbed my hand over my face, pushing my hair up and away as I did so. So many thoughts were bouncing around my head that it felt like mush. I knew I wouldn’t be making any more progress tonight though. I was just too tired. “After I catch some sleep, I’m going to spend some time talking with Natasha tomorrow. Get a feel for this new world we are heading towards.”

“You’d think some government or another would already know whats going on though,” Henry interjected. “I mean, based on what you said Natasha told you, this isn’t limited to this city.”

“Yeah, that was my sense as well,” I shrugged in response, then raised two fingers. “That being said, it wouldn’t surprise me that there are some preparing for the change to occur, and others that are being paid in some way to look the other way as groups like these dark elves get to run rampant in the shadows. Honestly, that might explain why so many social services throughout the country have been so lackluster and inefficient the past few years.”

Henry lowered his head into his hands. I’d be the first to admit that I wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of the police department in the city, let alone the government of the state and country, but the logic I had just laid out to the doctor carried a bit too much potential truth for him to set aside without setting it down and looking it over. It was at that point I realized that laying all this on an old man so soon after his world was shaken to the core was not a productive way to end the night. From what Natasha said, I still thought we had some time to get ready, and I emphasized that to Henry.

“From what Natasha said, I get the sense that we have months, maybe even years yet before the change occurs. That gives us time to get ready for it,” making eye-contact with Henry, I put extra force into my next words, “and I don’t know about you, doctor, but I won’t be taking all this lying down.”

“No, you’re right,” Henry said, taking his head out of his hands. He stood up from the table, put the empty glass in my sink, and turned back to me. “You’re right,” he repeated, “but it’s getting late. Might if we pick this conversation back up later? Maybe after you talk with the dark elf…Natasha a bit more?”

“Sure, Henry,” I got up from my seat and reached out to shake his hand. “Max and Franz would thank you for all your help tonight, but since they can’t, I’ll do it for them. Thank you, doctor, for all the help.”

“Of course, Jakob,” Henry smiled slightly, “after all the Night Wolves have done to keep the peace around here, it is the least I could do. You have a good night, and I’ll be back over tomorrow to check on Max and Franz. I look forward to learning anything else you can tell me then.”

So saying, I walked Henry to the door. His eyes were glued to the sleeping form of Natasha on my couch, but at least this time they were full of curiosity rather than concern or fear. In some ways it looked like he was already making an adjustment to the new world we were going into. Which was good. I would need his help figuring out what to do in the days ahead if things with the dark elves developed how I thought they would. In a word, badly.

Before I closed the door, he made me promise that I would come get him if there was any negative development with either Max or Franz. While he reminded me he couldn’t do much, as he had limited experience with poisons, he would still prefer to be here doing something for them if needed.

I promised several times, then closed the door as Henry went back down the hall to his own place. I turned and went down the hall, past the living room where Natasha slept on my couch, to my bedroom. A bit smaller than the living room, I’d always thought of my bedroom as comfortably cozy. The mattress was the one thing I had splurged extra money on, since I enjoyed sleeping so much.

Unfortunately I wouldn’t be enjoying it tonight.

Max was lying side by side with his brother, buried under a pile of my blankets to stay warm. Both were taking even breaths as they rested thankfully. While I was concerned about finding the cure still, I knew Henry had gotten them as comfortable as he was able to in the short term. I’d make sure to find out exactly what I needed to do from Natasha tomorrow. But for now I needed to sleep.

After I grabbed two light blankets that the brothers weren’t using, I gently closed the door behind me and made my way back to the living room. I quietly made my way over to the elven woman. I assumed she was asleep by now, so I gently laid one of the light blankets over her. As I did so, she rolled over slightly, turning her face away from the wall. Apart from the skin tone, the hair color, and of course her long ears, Natasha looked much like any other girl relaxed in sleep. Well, except the light snoring. But she wasn’t. She was a trained killer from another world and she was sleeping on my couch. I was struck by how strange my life had become so quickly. I wondered what she dreamed about.

Pushing the idle musing away, I stepped back and moved the chair she had been sitting in earlier to the other side of the room. While I was a bit grumpy at losing the couch to the elven woman, given how my night had started with Natasha, I was willing to let her keep the couch if it meant a better working relationship going forward.

Not comfortable by any means, I knew my back would still prefer it to the floor. I wrapped myself in the other blanket I had brought, not caring how dirty it got from the dried soot and blood from the fight earlier this evening. I’d clean up tomorrow.

The last exhausted thoughts I had were a blur of stats and the fanged smile of an elven woman looking at me from across my living room.