A Dark Night - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The meeting point was some slinky bar on the outskirts of town.  Vileb was still a bit under the weather from the last few days yet I had been hunting weak prey for him to feed.  This further had helped our cause:  The bar was a renegade Fang hideout.  With me pulling errands for Vileb, the Fangs would believe me to be his loyal Lupe puppet.

Vileb on top of being a quiet mess, had taken a favoring to constant apology.   He would slink around the vacant flat, every so often looking to me and whispering a cracked, “I’m so sorry.”  I initially had fussed at him for the constant apology.  I soon came to ignore the whininess of my colleague. 

“Kirsta?” His voice was stronger today than it had been in the last few days.  I peered towards the door where I could hear him creeping.  “Kirsta, are you made at me?” I slightly chuckled at him, playing with my knife.

“No,” I peered up from my blade to see him cautiously peeking around the corner.  He reminded me of his younger self, carefully making his way to me in fear of the other children.  “I just want you to be yourself again.  You’re acting like you’re eight years old again.  No one can push you around like that anymore.”  I stopped to stare at him for a moment.  “What happened back there?”

Although it had been three days since the incident with HARM, we hadn’t had opportunity to talk about the beast or his feral outbreak.  “I honestly can only remember bits and pieces.”  Vileb slunk into the room and curled against my shoulder.  The year difference between us was greatly clouded after being alive for so long without having aged at all.  Yet at moments like this, he truly showed his younger age.

“I remember being in the room with that man, Revelle.  There’s something about him that just doesn’t sit right, Kirsta.  He seems to thrive on torture, torment, and chaos.  Definitely odd for him to be involved in an organization build on order.”  Vileb was right on with his instincts on people.

“But he tried to force non-existent information out of me.  They were surprised to discover that the Lupe and Fangs were both based in the city.  He personally seemed disturbed by that fact.  More so, he was both intrigued and confused by our situation.  He truly didn’t present any look or sense of being threatened by either of us but rather looked as if he wanted more information on our survival.  We’re an anomaly, and he clearly stated that to me as well.  How we’re been able to survive in an environment to still believe our lies but yet still see us as a threat…”

I nodded with some conviction and knowledge now about the man who had pushed my companion to his feral side.  Revelle was a force to be monitored but with such delicacy that he shouldn’t know I was keeping a close eye on him.  “Do you know anything about the beast?” I asked, running a few fingers through his hair.

Vileb shuddered for a moment then squinted his eyes as if trying to visualize the situation again.  “I remember attacking it as I could only see the heat pulsing in it.  However as soon as I had sunk my fangs into its flesh, the figure that was so plainly human immediately transformed into something different.  It was like when I watched you shift into your lupine forms.

“This was something engineered in HARM, but that organism was definitely still human.  I think the gentleman we so kindly met on the first day was a successful transmutation of their ‘strongman.’  However, this twisted individual was truly a failed experiment.”  I had to agree.

The man who had arrested us and brought us to HARM originally was not your average human but still was well within human constrictions.  It was like he was on steroids but not restrained by them as well.  This was something I certainly would need to converse with Lyv about at a later date.

“So, this is the plan,” as soon as the words left my lips, Vileb’s eyes perked up.  “We must make our way to this bar called the ‘Stabbed Heart.’  This location is an old Fang haunt so we will definitely encroach upon territories we haven’t wandered through before.  We have to be really careful as I have done a great done of spying…”

“Reconnaissance!”  His arm had shot up in the air with the word.

“…Fine.”  I huffed, smirking at his joke.  “…Reconnaissance to learn that within the last few days there have not only been rouge vampires but a few Fang recruiters hanging out at this area.  If we want to make this believable, you are going to have to pull out all the stops and I’m ready to take any type of damage you have to do to me.  But first and foremost,” I poked him in his arm.  He flinched and narrowed his eyes at me.  “You need to clean yourself up.  You’ll never pull off being a Lord being the whiny little boy you’ve been the last few days.”

Vileb shot to his feet almost immediately.  His laugh darkened as he began to walk across the room.  “Ahh, but dear girl.  You seem to forget who you are speaking to.”  As he continued to move, he stepped to the walls and walked to the ceiling without missing a beat.  “So what is our angle?  City slumming representative who decided to step out of the shadows or visiting country landowner who decided to come to town?”

“Neither, actually.  The Fangs have heard of the vampire who was just released from the human Rebellion and request an audience with him and his loyal mutt.”  A smirk drew across my face as my eyes locked with Vileb’s.  The gleam in my eye easily transferred to him as he did a front flip off the ceiling to land next to me.

“Very good, HARM definitely have helped with our little operation.  From what I’ve understood, vampires that escape the HARM facility seem to have little knowledge of what have occurred.  Should I play up that approach as well or probe for further information on what they want?”

I made my way to our closet, looking through our attire and costumes from previous scouting missions.  “You’re better when you’re smart.”  A quick glance to him was easy to catch the disapproved look on his face.  “They’re sure to ask how you’ve gotten me so obedient without their laser-leash.  The silver collar will do well to assist this bust.”

He quickly came over to grab his trenchcoat, checking the pockets.  “Except that I managed to walk off with a little parting gift,” and in his hand showed the laser-leash control from HARM.  I lightly chuckled, but more nervously.  He easily saw the concern in my eyes.  “I know you do not like them but we have to play the part.”  I whimpered but nodded solemnly.  “So now?”

“Now we prepare.”  Vileb gave a single nod to me as I did as well.  First things first, I was to go play in the rags and shreds of what was left of those I fed to Vileb recently.  All of which were nameless Promised, humans told by the Lupe that they would soon be turned into a werewolf.  I dressed myself in what clothing would still fit but was not to upstage my master.  I let my hair down, a falls of brick-colored hair layering over itself.  Pinning it up with pieces of sinew and bone, I looked like a glorified mess.

I could smell the sweet musk of a clean Vileb in the next room.  It had been a few days since he had bathed, and from this request, it would be a few in which I would until we had completed Lyv’s request:  Infiltrate the lower bowels of the Fang hierarchy to attempt to locate the main base.  It was highly doubtful that we would get any information within the next few days.  This exploit would definitely take a few days to pull off at the least and we shouldn’t attempt to contact anyone or get any further information from HARM or any of our normal leads.

Vileb hadn’t taken long to slick his hair back into a simple ponytail, the caramel locks tied back with a golden wrap similar to what you would see in colonial times.  He wore his black trenchcoat but had a clean and pressed white button-up collared shirt on.  He did not wear his common boots but brightly polished dress shoes at the end of his perfectly cuffed auburn dress pants.  “I hate your alacrity,” I muttered.

“Good word, I’ll have to make sure it waltzes through my vocabulary soon.”  He waved the wand at me as the restraints began to take effect.  I began to relax to allow this to occur all ready to begin our charade.

“It’s your fault I started reading in the first place.”  I smirked at him.

He leaned in to me and softly kissed me on my forehead.  “You’re welcome, little wolf.  You’re welcome.”