The Runaway Slayer Part Two
It wasn’t just vampires tonight. Everyone who had any sort of magical skill had been called in, and it made for a very odd assembly. Spoony watched them impassively, observed as they all found a place in the hall, keeping his hands clenched so he could get through this with all these people here-witches, minor demons, fae, Father Suede, even Critic had come, thankfully not bringing either of his brothers-Spoony wasn’t sure he could handle that family dynamic right now.
Rachel and Jaeris came in with Snob, both looking rather lost as they were pulled into the chaos. Linkara caught Rachel’s eye and smiled reassuringly at her. She smiled back, though she still looked frightened, as she and Jaeris took seats at the very back of the assembly. Linkara leaned over to Spoony. “What’s the order of business?” he whispered.
“Protection spells first,” Spoony answered. “Not all of these people can hang around here all night, and we need to get it done.”
“They can’t start on it until we’re finished anyway.”
“No, but they can be preparing mentally. And it’s not going to get done tonight. It’s going to need days, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Linkara smiled wanly. “At least there’s a slight protection while we set up the reinforcements.”
“And while the Order may be preparing for battle, they don’t know that we’re weakening. We have time, at least.” Spoony looked around the room. Everyone seemed to be assembled and seated. He rose from his seat. “Order!” he called over the throng. “Order!”
The room fell silent, every eye turning to the vampire lord. Spoony glanced around once more before continuing. “As many of you are aware, it has come to my attention that the protection we placed around the city a few months ago is breaking down.” There were a few murmurs at this, but they quickly fell silent when Spoony glared. “As such, we once again need to pool all our resources and reinforce it. I know it’s a lot to ask, and that it’s a complicated spell, but it must be done. We have also received intelligence that the Order of the Slayers is planning another attack on the city, one which could very well wipe out those of us who survived the last battle. I need all of you to begin preparing for this spell immediately and be ready to cast it as soon as possible. Any questions?”
There was a moment of silence as the assembly exchanged looks. Spoony waited a minute. “Okay, any of you who have to be somewhere else tonight can go.” A few of the assembly rose and headed out, but the majority of them stayed, even the non-vampires. Linkara smiled to himself. Few could resist listening in on vampire court when they were invited to do so. Spoony shook his head slightly. “Jaeris, Rachel, would you step forward, please?”
Linkara watched as the pair rose from their seats and walked the length of the hall toward them. He could tell they were trying very hard to keep a steady gait and not rush forward to get away from all the eyes watching them. Spoony’s face remained expressionless as they approached. Jaeris also did very well at not showing emotion, but Rachel looked more frightened than ever as she approached.
It took them quite a long time to reach the end of the hall, but they did and stood before the vampire lord. Spoony looked at them. “I have considered your request,” he said calmly. “And I have decided to accept you into my court.” The pair let out a sigh of relief, but Spoony help up his hand. “There are a few conditions,” he added and the air in the room tensed slightly. “Rachel,” he said, looking at the girl, who looked, if possible, even more terrified than she had when walking down the hall. “You will finish your training with Linkara. You will join him on patrol and learn the ways of this city. When your training is complete, you must be prepared, at any moment, to take over as slayer of this city should the situation arise. Is that understood?”
Rachel nodded. “Yes, sir,” she said.
Spoony nodded and turned to the boy. “Jaeris,” he said. “You are a part of my court, as any other vampire. You will learn our laws and ways and follow every one of them. You will learn where you are and are not accepted in this city. Since I am accepting you into my court, I am accepting you as my responsibility. As such, should any other being in this city bring a complaint about you, you will answer to me. You will accept my decisions and do as you are asked. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Jaeris said.
Spoony nodded again. “And for both of you,” he continued. “You both know that the city is under protection that will soon be reinforced. This protection only extends to the city limits. Should you leave the city, we cannot protect and we will not be responsible for what happens to you outside of it. I cannot keep you here, but I caution you not to leave. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir,” they said together.
“One last thing,” Spoony said, with a glance at Linkara. “You are both young and probably not thinking in this direction, but I have to set this condition now. For right now, at least, you cannot have any children. This is as much for your protection as for ours. If, someday in the future, you wish for this to change, we can discuss it, but until we are sure the city is completely safe, you cannot think in that direction. Understood?”
Rachel and Jaeris looked faintly surprised. “Can vampires and humans even have children?” Rachel asked timidly.
“They can,” Linkara said. “And it attracts a lot of undo attention. Which is why we have to insist that you take precautions to prevent it until we’re sure it’s safe.”
Rachel blushed, but she and Jaeris only mumbled, “Yes, sir.”
“If you do not abide by these conditions,” Spoony said firmly. “You cannot stay here. You will be forced to leave, and I don’t fancy your chances alone against the Order and the High Council. Snob will teach you the basic rules and you will do well to remember them. Rachel, you will return here tomorrow to restart your training. Otherwise, we usually hold court at the Denny’s when we need to.”
They nodded and Spoony dismissed them. He looked at the rest of the assembly. “Any new business?” he called. No one moved. “Okay, then, court dismissed!” As the various beings began to leave, Spoony and Linkara rose from their seats and went down to the court. Linkara immediately found Rachel and embraced her. “You okay?” he asked quietly.
She nodded. “I guess,” she said. Linkara stepped back and looked at her, noting the faint bite marks on her neck. She blushed slightly. “So I’m going to be a slayer after all?” she asked.
“Yes,” Linkara said. “I’m not going to be here forever and there has to be someone ready to take over.”
“I’m not immortal, either,” Rachel pointed out.
“No,” Linkara agreed. “But others may come. And Spoony’s condition about children… it won’t last forever.”
“I’m only seventeen. I don’t think that’ll be any time soon.”
“I know. But there’s a better chance that there will always be a slayer now.” He looked serious. “That is, if you’re sure about him…”
She nodded. “I am,” she said. “I know I’m young, but… I just know. I wouldn’t have run away if I wasn’t sure.”
Linkara nodded. “Okay,” he said. “Do you two know where you’ll be living?”
Rachel shook her head. “I… we haven’t really discussed it.”
“It’s okay.” Linkara waved to Snob. “You take these two back,” he said. “And help them find more suitable quarters.”
“Will do,” Snob said. “Come on, then, I was leaving anyway.”
Rachel and Jaeris followed and Linkara moved to join Spoony, who was deep in conversation with the Critic.
“Are you sure?” Spoony was asking as Linkara joined them. “We could really use their help… either of them.”
Critic shook his head. “We were told not to interfere. I shouldn’t have even come here to hear about it.”
Spoony groaned in frustration. “Critic, we need all the help we can get. We just don’t have the power we need to keep this thing up and I can’t reconvene everyone every three months to fix it. If they would just…”
“I can’t control them, Spoony, so don’t pull that on me. And in case you haven’t noticed, the universe does not revolve around you and your precious territory. Both Ask That Guy and the Other Guy have better things to do than worry about your damn protection.”
“It’s not just me, Critic, it’s everyone in this city. Hundreds, if not thousands of people could die if the Order or the High Council decided to strike. We could have hunters and slayers and werewolves and fairies and God knows what else beating down our doors if we don’t get this fixed. It will be chaos. So, please…”
“I can’t! It doesn’t matter what the stakes are, I cannot do anything about this. You’re just going to have to use whatever you have and hope for the best.” With that, Critic turned and stalked out of the room.
Spoony sighed. “I tried,” he muttered.
“I know,” Linkara said. “But you know Heaven and Hell can’t help us.” He slipped his arm around Spoony. “We should go to bed, you look exhausted.”
Spoony laughed. “I always look that way,” he said, leaning in and gently biting on Linkara’s neck, sending a spark through his consort’s body. “But maybe you’re right. We can worry about this tomorrow.”
“Yes,” Linkara agreed. “No one’s going to be ready to do anything until then at least.”
And with that, they retreated to the bedroom.
Rachel and Jaeris came in with Snob, both looking rather lost as they were pulled into the chaos. Linkara caught Rachel’s eye and smiled reassuringly at her. She smiled back, though she still looked frightened, as she and Jaeris took seats at the very back of the assembly. Linkara leaned over to Spoony. “What’s the order of business?” he whispered.
“Protection spells first,” Spoony answered. “Not all of these people can hang around here all night, and we need to get it done.”
“They can’t start on it until we’re finished anyway.”
“No, but they can be preparing mentally. And it’s not going to get done tonight. It’s going to need days, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Linkara smiled wanly. “At least there’s a slight protection while we set up the reinforcements.”
“And while the Order may be preparing for battle, they don’t know that we’re weakening. We have time, at least.” Spoony looked around the room. Everyone seemed to be assembled and seated. He rose from his seat. “Order!” he called over the throng. “Order!”
The room fell silent, every eye turning to the vampire lord. Spoony glanced around once more before continuing. “As many of you are aware, it has come to my attention that the protection we placed around the city a few months ago is breaking down.” There were a few murmurs at this, but they quickly fell silent when Spoony glared. “As such, we once again need to pool all our resources and reinforce it. I know it’s a lot to ask, and that it’s a complicated spell, but it must be done. We have also received intelligence that the Order of the Slayers is planning another attack on the city, one which could very well wipe out those of us who survived the last battle. I need all of you to begin preparing for this spell immediately and be ready to cast it as soon as possible. Any questions?”
There was a moment of silence as the assembly exchanged looks. Spoony waited a minute. “Okay, any of you who have to be somewhere else tonight can go.” A few of the assembly rose and headed out, but the majority of them stayed, even the non-vampires. Linkara smiled to himself. Few could resist listening in on vampire court when they were invited to do so. Spoony shook his head slightly. “Jaeris, Rachel, would you step forward, please?”
Linkara watched as the pair rose from their seats and walked the length of the hall toward them. He could tell they were trying very hard to keep a steady gait and not rush forward to get away from all the eyes watching them. Spoony’s face remained expressionless as they approached. Jaeris also did very well at not showing emotion, but Rachel looked more frightened than ever as she approached.
It took them quite a long time to reach the end of the hall, but they did and stood before the vampire lord. Spoony looked at them. “I have considered your request,” he said calmly. “And I have decided to accept you into my court.” The pair let out a sigh of relief, but Spoony help up his hand. “There are a few conditions,” he added and the air in the room tensed slightly. “Rachel,” he said, looking at the girl, who looked, if possible, even more terrified than she had when walking down the hall. “You will finish your training with Linkara. You will join him on patrol and learn the ways of this city. When your training is complete, you must be prepared, at any moment, to take over as slayer of this city should the situation arise. Is that understood?”
Rachel nodded. “Yes, sir,” she said.
Spoony nodded and turned to the boy. “Jaeris,” he said. “You are a part of my court, as any other vampire. You will learn our laws and ways and follow every one of them. You will learn where you are and are not accepted in this city. Since I am accepting you into my court, I am accepting you as my responsibility. As such, should any other being in this city bring a complaint about you, you will answer to me. You will accept my decisions and do as you are asked. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Jaeris said.
Spoony nodded again. “And for both of you,” he continued. “You both know that the city is under protection that will soon be reinforced. This protection only extends to the city limits. Should you leave the city, we cannot protect and we will not be responsible for what happens to you outside of it. I cannot keep you here, but I caution you not to leave. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir,” they said together.
“One last thing,” Spoony said, with a glance at Linkara. “You are both young and probably not thinking in this direction, but I have to set this condition now. For right now, at least, you cannot have any children. This is as much for your protection as for ours. If, someday in the future, you wish for this to change, we can discuss it, but until we are sure the city is completely safe, you cannot think in that direction. Understood?”
Rachel and Jaeris looked faintly surprised. “Can vampires and humans even have children?” Rachel asked timidly.
“They can,” Linkara said. “And it attracts a lot of undo attention. Which is why we have to insist that you take precautions to prevent it until we’re sure it’s safe.”
Rachel blushed, but she and Jaeris only mumbled, “Yes, sir.”
“If you do not abide by these conditions,” Spoony said firmly. “You cannot stay here. You will be forced to leave, and I don’t fancy your chances alone against the Order and the High Council. Snob will teach you the basic rules and you will do well to remember them. Rachel, you will return here tomorrow to restart your training. Otherwise, we usually hold court at the Denny’s when we need to.”
They nodded and Spoony dismissed them. He looked at the rest of the assembly. “Any new business?” he called. No one moved. “Okay, then, court dismissed!” As the various beings began to leave, Spoony and Linkara rose from their seats and went down to the court. Linkara immediately found Rachel and embraced her. “You okay?” he asked quietly.
She nodded. “I guess,” she said. Linkara stepped back and looked at her, noting the faint bite marks on her neck. She blushed slightly. “So I’m going to be a slayer after all?” she asked.
“Yes,” Linkara said. “I’m not going to be here forever and there has to be someone ready to take over.”
“I’m not immortal, either,” Rachel pointed out.
“No,” Linkara agreed. “But others may come. And Spoony’s condition about children… it won’t last forever.”
“I’m only seventeen. I don’t think that’ll be any time soon.”
“I know. But there’s a better chance that there will always be a slayer now.” He looked serious. “That is, if you’re sure about him…”
She nodded. “I am,” she said. “I know I’m young, but… I just know. I wouldn’t have run away if I wasn’t sure.”
Linkara nodded. “Okay,” he said. “Do you two know where you’ll be living?”
Rachel shook her head. “I… we haven’t really discussed it.”
“It’s okay.” Linkara waved to Snob. “You take these two back,” he said. “And help them find more suitable quarters.”
“Will do,” Snob said. “Come on, then, I was leaving anyway.”
Rachel and Jaeris followed and Linkara moved to join Spoony, who was deep in conversation with the Critic.
“Are you sure?” Spoony was asking as Linkara joined them. “We could really use their help… either of them.”
Critic shook his head. “We were told not to interfere. I shouldn’t have even come here to hear about it.”
Spoony groaned in frustration. “Critic, we need all the help we can get. We just don’t have the power we need to keep this thing up and I can’t reconvene everyone every three months to fix it. If they would just…”
“I can’t control them, Spoony, so don’t pull that on me. And in case you haven’t noticed, the universe does not revolve around you and your precious territory. Both Ask That Guy and the Other Guy have better things to do than worry about your damn protection.”
“It’s not just me, Critic, it’s everyone in this city. Hundreds, if not thousands of people could die if the Order or the High Council decided to strike. We could have hunters and slayers and werewolves and fairies and God knows what else beating down our doors if we don’t get this fixed. It will be chaos. So, please…”
“I can’t! It doesn’t matter what the stakes are, I cannot do anything about this. You’re just going to have to use whatever you have and hope for the best.” With that, Critic turned and stalked out of the room.
Spoony sighed. “I tried,” he muttered.
“I know,” Linkara said. “But you know Heaven and Hell can’t help us.” He slipped his arm around Spoony. “We should go to bed, you look exhausted.”
Spoony laughed. “I always look that way,” he said, leaning in and gently biting on Linkara’s neck, sending a spark through his consort’s body. “But maybe you’re right. We can worry about this tomorrow.”
“Yes,” Linkara agreed. “No one’s going to be ready to do anything until then at least.”
And with that, they retreated to the bedroom.