Chapter 3
1164 Words
3
The dark study was extravagant, but not gaudy. Tall oak bookshelves stretched to a foot short of the ceiling, and atop their majestic wood sat busts of famous orators and statesman, some of whom occupied both those distinctions.
A wide window some ten feet tall encompassed half of the exterior wall. The glass was separated into several panes, and some of them opened like doors onto a luscious lawn. A cool night breeze swept through the windows and into the room, stirring a few loose papers on a large oak desk.
Behind the desk sat a man of thirty-five. His hair was as dark as the night behind him and his skin was pale. He was dressed in dark semi-formal attire that allowed him to blend in with the black leather of the high-backed chair.
The man was seated in one corner of the large chair. One of his cheeks leaned against the back of his hand and his eyes were closed. He didn’t stir, not even his chest in the customary movement of necessary breathing.
There was a knock on one of a pair of doors that led into the study. The man’s eyes opened to reveal their blood-red color. “Enter.”
The door opened and in stepped the beautiful young woman who had proven so deadly toward Sarah and the stranger. Behind her was a man a head taller than her and clothed in a simple overcoat. The front of the coat was opened and revealed his torn pants and shirtless chest.
She strode over to the desk and drew out the vial full of the murdered man’s blood which she placed in front of the dark man. “There’s another one for you.”
He looked past her at the open door. “Your manners are as lacking as ever, Andrea.”
The woman jumped when the door slammed shut and spun around to find no one near it. She turned back to the man and glared at him. “You could’ve just asked me to shut it.”
The man leaned forward and plucked the vial from the desk. He fell back against the chair and held the container up to his face where he swished around the blood in slow, even motions. The color of the blood reflected those of his eyes as he watched the liquid swirl around. “You had problems fetching the blood.”
Andrea shrugged. “Nothing I couldn’t handle.”
His eyes flickered to her and he lowered the vial to his lap. “And yet you didn’t.”
She frowned. “Says who?”
He looked past her at her companion. “You should learn to read your dragon’s emotions more clearly.”
She glanced over her shoulder and sneered at him. “It’s only business between us, that’s it.”
“Your ‘business’ has made him quite angry,” the man commented as he tucked the vial into his shirt. “He craves the blood of one who has wronged him.”
The young woman turned back to the dark man. “We might have let two people get away, but it’s no big deal.”
The man arched an eyebrow. “Two people? That is quite a nuisance. Were they humans?”
Andrea bit her lower lip and shifted her weight from one foot to another. “One of them was.”
His eyebrows crashed down and his eyes flashed with a dark color. “You allowed a vampire to escape.”
She straightened and waved her hand in front of her. “He probably wasn’t worth it, anyway and besides, my dragon took care of him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he turned into dust an hour ago.”
The dark man swiveled his chair around and looked out on the clear night sky that lay beyond the windows. “You may go, but understand that I haven’t forgotten your failure. Another will dissolve our contract.” He turned his head to one side and his one eye looked at her without wavering. “You understand what that means, don’t you?”
She pursed her lips, but nodded. “Yeah, I know what it means.”
The man faced forward toward the windows against. “Good. Until next time.” Andrea flipped him off and spun around. “Oh, and Andrea?” She paused and glanced over her shoulder. He raised the vial to the light of the windows and swished around the contents. “Try to be swifter in their destruction. A soul dying in terror is nearly as worthless as no soul at all.”
Andrea narrowed her eyes and continued to the entrance. She flung open the door and marched out into a carpeted hall with wood paneling. Her companion followed her and shut the door behind them.
She stomped down the hall with her hands balled into fists at her side. “Damn him and his stupid contract,” she growled as she reached a large entrance hall. “He should just mind his own business and I’ll mind mine.”
“Your business will fail if you make your customer unhappy,” a voice chimed in.
Andrea stopped and whipped her head to her right. A young man of twenty leaned against the wall. He was tall and thin, and wore an overcoat that was as white as snow. His short hair was dyed with a dozen colors that merged together to create a rainbow.
She glared at him. “Mind your own business, Maurice.”
He clucked his tongue and shook his head as he pushed off from the wall. “The same old mantra, Andrea? All you ever talk about is work. Don’t you ever want to have fun?”
Andrea sneered at him. “I’d rather just get the job done and move on.”
She strode forward, but Maurice slid in front of her, blocking her path to the front doors. “Don’t be like this, Andrea. We could have such fun together.”
Maurice stretched out his hand toward her. The man in the overcoat swept around Andrea and grabbed his wrist. He raised his gaze to Maurice and glared at him with yellow eyes. His eyes widened and he stiffened his body.
Behind the overcoat-covered man stood a small girl of fifteen. She wore a simple pair of jeans with a tie-dye shirt. Her long brown hair was pulled behind her in a tail that ran down her back.
One of her hands was pressed into the man’s back. Her long fingers ended in sharpened talons like those of the dragon man she held behind her sharp talon-knives.
Maurice looked past the dragon man and grinned at Andrea. “You really need to watch your pet, Andrea. He might get in my way enough times that my pet and I will start playing for keeps.” He nodded his head at the young girl. She withdrew her hand and stepped back.
“Get back here,” Andrea snapped at her dragon. The man slipped beside her, but his narrowed eyes were kept on the young girl who sidled up beside Maurice.
Maurice swept his arm over his chest and bowed to her. “It’s been fun, Andrea, but if you’ll excuse me, I have some business with our shared client myself. See you later.” He strode past her with the girl at his side and both disappeared down the hall.
Andrea pursed her lips and continued forward with her dragon man behind her. “This almost isn’t worth the trouble. . .”
- Writer
