Warlock

Interview with the Vampire

"Do you lead them to your friends or do you just create the chemicals that torture them?" Skye's painted-on smile had washed away with the rain. They sat together at a breakfast café, not Skye's café but one much closer to the inner city. The vampire and supposed 'scientist' sipped from her coffee cup, not at all thrown off by Skye's accusing tone. Vampires were among the more prideful Other species, though no species beat werewolves in that category, but this one could not have lived as long as she had without a certain amount of patience.

"I just make the chemicals and forge the results. The only chemical that has any genuine effect is the sedative; the rest are placebos. I work for the humans to keep them from finding out too much. Now to the real question, what are you two up to? I think I saw you a hundred years or so ago," she pointed at Skye then turned to Loch. "but I don't recognize you. What species?"

Loch did not feel like telling two people his life story in one day. He and the vampire had met seven hundred years ago, but his special shielding prevented her from recognizing him. Although he knew as a fact that she kept separate from Other society, he did not trust her to keep her mouth shut. "My species is irrelevant. What matters is that we get rid of this human interference. Do you have access to all of their locations?"

She was clearly dissatisfied with his response, but let it slide for the moment. "I do, but it'll cost you."

A gasp of disgust escaped Skye's mouth. Loch hid a smile beneath one hand; he was entertaining when he was offended. "Don't you want to help your own species? This organization is experimenting on good people!"

"Oh, please. You just want more soldiers to fight in your little war."

As much as he enjoyed watching Skye's face turn blue, Loch needed to get home where there were fewer distractions before darkness fell. He cut into the conversation before Skye could respond. "What will it cost? A magic relic, perhaps?" He hated giving up even the tiniest parts of his collection, but he could always steal them back later. Via the wonders of the internet, he had already tracked down several new dragon keys to replace the ones he had given to Skye.

One of the vampire's pristine eyebrows shot up. "You have access to magic relics? Does your daddy work in the Archives?"

"Yes or no?"

"A relic would do. A handful of golden fleece." That actually was in the Archives, which meant she probably knew which relics were and were not in the Archives. Loch would have loved to steal from the Others, but a glance at Skye's face told him not to push it. Unfortunately, he was dating a goody-two-shoes.

Loch stole a French fry from Skye's plate. "I'd rather not steal from the Archives. What about..." Which of his relics did he value the least? "The Dread Harpy's locket? It still works."

This caught her interest. Vampires loved objects that created jewelry. The Dread Harpy's locket produced rubies whenever it was opened. Since Loch already had an object that produced infinite gold, and another that produced every kind of jewel and gem, it did not actually have any use to him. The vampire nodded. "Alright. I'll take it. But how did you come upon such a thing? Nobody's seen that in at least five hundred years."

"I like to think of myself as a collector." He popped another fry into his mouth. "That's that, then. We'll be at the company building tomorrow to finish the hiring process, so we'll make the tradeoff then. Skelly, let's go." Skye gracefully poured the remaining fries onto a napkin to carry along with him and chugged the rest of his water.

Loch held out his arm once they had left the building, and Skye willingly latched on. For Loch, however, it was not a sign of affection. He tapped the transporting relic in his pocket, and in a breath of a second they were in his car. He pulled his arm away from Skye. "I'll get the imprisoned Others out tonight, don't worry. I unlocked their boxes while we were there."

"So you're going to sneak in at night and lead them out? Can I come?" He should have guessed that Skye was an adrenaline junkie. The naiad had ten times more energy than him already.

"Sure. It won't take long, and it won't be very exciting, so don't get all excited."

"What's the plan? Are we going to wear all black with masks and everything?"

Working at a café must have left Skye with a lot of free time to watch movies. "No. I'll just make us invisible. I'm temporarily cutting a hole in the ground into the basement, leading everyone out, then putting the hole back. It'll be very simple. Nothing exciting. I wouldn't recommend coming."

"You don't trust me to stay quiet, then?" Skye looked heartbroken. An adrenaline junkie who jumped to conclusions. Loch groaned.

"No, I just don't want to disappoint you. There's no flourish to my magic." Everyone expected ancient magic to include sparks and glory, when really the practice of thousands of years led to minimalism and subtlety.

Skye leaned across the car to wrap him into a hug as if he had admitted some deep dark secret. He was such a strange creature. "Don't worry. Everything you do is spectacular, even if there is no 'flourish'. What time should I meet you?"

Normally he would tell an unwanted companion the wrong time and go ahead with his original plan, but if he left Skye hanging he knew Lola would kill him. It had nothing to do with the sparkle in Skye's eyes, or the hand on his arm. Nothing at all. "Ten o'clock should be dark enough."

"See you then." Skelly gave him a peck on the cheek and hopped out of the car, leaving Loch in a state of shock. What had he gotten himself into?