At first, I thought Nestor had lost it. Then I saw the dark form stepping through the tornado as if it wasn’t even there. My God Eye allowed me to see the tornado for what it really was. Bats. Thousands of them all flying rapidly around us. Their squeaking reached a fever pitch as a woman slowly stalked up to us.

She coldly looked down at the prostrate Nestor as he cowered before her. With a wave of her hand, she uttered a single word, “Begone.”

He stiffened and twisted on his knees, vanishing in a puff of smoke. That left the woman alone with just me to hold her attention. She looked me up and down and I did the same to her. Her outfit felt old-fashioned or at least something I’d only expect to see in theatre. The woman was draped in a hooded black dress with crimson lace making her attire tight around her voluptuous form. A billowing black cape completed the ensemble, draping her shoulders and flowing freely behind her in a breeze it seemed to create on its own.

She raised an eyebrow at me and asked, “Am I to take it you are the reason that buffoon was missing his shirt?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but no words came out. Kalli spoke in my mind. Good. She got there in time.

Who? What?

Kalliphae’s relief washed over me. That’s Carmilla Shaw. Shara’s mom.

I breathed out a sigh of relief. I was saved. I laughed, “Yes, I set his shirt on fire. I had hoped to burn the whole place down, but it's hard to tell what a bomb is going to do when you summon it from your imagination.”

Carmilla gave me a shrewd look, “You truly did that?”

I nodded vigorously, “I also broke their house when I was escaping. Is Mr. Thompson going to get in trouble for kidnapping us? Also, why did you let the man in red go? Shouldn’t they all go to jail or something?”

“In due time”, she replied with a slight smile.

I felt like a bug under a magnifying glass. She was speaking to me like I was a petulant child asking meaningless questions. Exasperated, I asked, “What next?”

She appraised me once again, “Do you have any qualms with teleportation?”

Eager to sample another version of the spell, I shook my head, “No. Teleportation suits me just fine.”

She took two steps to approach me and extended an arm, “Very well, take my hand.”

For the second time in only a few minutes, I felt myself being drawn into the void. This time I felt more. Carmilla was drawing her magic from blood. Ancient blood.

While my mana flowed through passageways that extended to every corner of my body, Carmilla’s mana lived in her blood. She didn’t have to infuse her heart to force mana into her organs. It naturally did so. A byproduct of this was that the mana consumed her blood, causing her to constantly need to replenish it. Making her thirst.

Carmilla Shaw is a…

Kalliphae asked the question just as I pulled up a menu to confirm. What is Carmilla Shaw?

Name

Carmilla Shaw

Class

Vampire

Level

???

Affection Level

Indifferent

She is a vampire.

I cleared the menu away and looked around. I found myself in another old house. A glance at the map and I discovered that we were back in Poway, the town we had been in when we first joined the guild. It made sense. We met Shara there after all. I looked for Kalli on the map, hoping to find her at the house. She was still in El Cajon.

I looked up at the vampire, who was still watching me intently, “What about Kalli? Are you going to bring her here too?”

She stopped to consider my question as though it had just occurred to her, “We have sent someone to pick your friend up. It was significantly more urgent that I get to you straight away.”

“What about the cab driver and the other two students?”, I asked, hoping to get some more answers.

Carmilla’s eyes narrowed, “The local authorities shall deal with them. Their affairs are beneath us.”

I raised my eyebrows at her and said, “You can’t just leave them there on the side of the freeway.”

She finally noticed my concern and replied, “Our relationship with the unawakened authorities typically dictates that we allow them to manage any of their own victims even if it is our kind that caused them harm.”

“They won’t blame Lou, will they?”, I found myself asking before I could help it.

Carmilla gave me a puzzled look, “Who’s Lou?”

I groaned, “The cab driver.”

The vampire was beginning to lose her patience with me, “I fail to see why any blame would be…never mind. I will see to it that your, um, friends are well taken care of.”

I couldn’t think of anything else to say, so I just said, “Thanks.”

From there, I was deposited in a bedroom by one of Carmilla’s attendants. The temporary respite reminded me that I hadn’t used the restroom in quite some time. I was surprised that I hadn’t soiled myself during all of the intense moments I went through while rescuing Kalliphae.

I looked around for a restroom but found nothing. It was then that I noticed a basin next to the bed with a small amount of water in it. I eyed it curiously for a moment before unzipping my pants and aiming at the chamber pot.

When in Rome, right?

Kalli freaked out in my head. Where is Rome? What are you…ew. You’re broadcasting.”

You told me not to turn it off.

She shuddered in my mind. I know. I know. Now I have to go and I can’t because we’re traveling.

I know. I can feel that you do.

The pyromancer was getting frustrated with me. Would you stop that? I don’t care what you can feel. You don’t have to talk about it.

I was too busy looking at the tiny pot. It appeared to be magical. The water had already cleaned itself. I examined it.

Item:

Self Cleaning Commode - With Auto Wash Feature

Components

Lead, Wood, Paint

Item Rank:

B

Item Level:

1

Item Owner:

Shaw

That settled it for me. This chamber pot was also rated to handle number 2. I dropped my pants and squatted over the basin. Kalli kept me entertained while I did my business. I’m so jealous, Mel. I wish I was in a place with a privy right now.

You could always ask Lou to pull over. I’m sure there’s plenty of public restrooms where you are.

After a few moments of silence, she seemed to cheer up. We are pulling into a house of tacos. They have a privy there.

Soon enough, we were both getting relief together. Neither of us said anything. When I finished, I was rummaging through my bag for something to transform into toilet paper when the commode attacked my backside. A geyser of cold water splashed against me, causing me to jump up and fall flat on my face.

I could feel Kalli’s shock as she informed me. I felt that water. I just screamed and a clerk from the house of tacos came in to ask if I fell in.

It wasn’t any funner on my end. Trust me.

“What on Earth are you doing?”, Shara had poked her head in the door and was gaping at me.

I hurriedly pulled up my pants and said, “Nothing. I was just…”

I didn’t get a chance to finish my sentence when the girl crossed the room and pulled out a chair with a hole in the bottom of it from behind the bed, “You know. If you put this over the chamber pot, you can sit while you do that. It makes things a lot easier.”

I glared at the girl from the floor, “We don’t have these contraptions where I live.”

The kid rolled her eyes and laughed, “Yes. Mother is old-fashioned like that. Why build bathrooms in these old castles when you can just install a good old self-cleaning chamber pot. You get used to it.”

I climbed to my feet and presented my hands to the magical basin for cleaning. As I felt the cold water cleansing my hands, I asked, “Did your mom send someone to meet Kalli? Last time I checked, she was driving back this way with Lou.”

Shara shrugged, “I don’t know. All mother told me is that it’s being handled. Anyhow, I want you to meet someone. This is my daddy.”

My first thought about the man who entered the room with Shara was that he was the butler. The impeccably well-dressed old man with balding grey hair and a bushy mustache stood stiffly behind the girl. He bowed and greeted me, “Welcome to Shaw manor. Please make yourself at home.”

Name

Rick Shaw

Class

Shadowmancer

Level

20

Affection Level

Friendly

I couldn’t help myself and laughed when I saw his name. Kalli saw what I was seeing and asked. What’s so funny, Mel?

His name is Rick Shaw. You know, like a rickshaw.

The girl felt confused. What is a rickshaw?

It’s a Japanese, um, I’m not sure. It's like a tiny car with three wheels.

I was lost in conversation and wound up telling Shara, “Isn’t he a little old for your mom?”

Shara shook her head, “Nope. Mother is older than daddy. A whole lot older.”

Rick smiled at me and chimed in, “It’s true. I am only a recent addition to the Shaw line.”

I frowned, “Didn’t your wife inherit your name when you got married?”

He shook his head, “While it's traditional in unawakwed households for the wife to take the husband’s name, in awakened unions things like surnames are decided by prestige. The Shaw family is a name that is known all around the world. I was pretty much a nobody before I joined the family.”

I was curious about how someone decided to marry a vampire, “How did you and Mrs. Shaw meet.”

The man nodded and explained, “It was an arranged marriage. I possess a certain affinity for darkness that Carmilla wished to pass on to her heir. That would be you, Shara dearest.”

Shara beamed at her father, “I know, Daddy.”

He smiled in return and explained, “It might not have been love at first sight, but I’ve grown to love my wife and young Shara here is the light of my life. The greatest thing I’ve ever made.”

“So what kinds of games do you play?”, I asked curiously.

Shara grinned, “We play magical games. They are a lot like games you’re probably familiar with, only they have magic in them. Would you like to play one with us? We can play Mana Jenga. It's a lot like the unawakened version, except you aren’t allowed to touch the pieces. You have to remove them using just your mana.”

Meanwhile, back at the home of the man in red…

Nestor lay in bed nursing his wounds. The kid had managed to burn him. Worse yet, he had ruined his favorite jacket He hadn’t taken damage on a quest in months. To take an injury from a low-level no-name kid was embarrassing.

His communicator rang. He answered as usual, “Yes?”

The familiar voice on the other end didn’t waste time with petty greetings, “You did well with the diversion. The manipulator doesn’t suspect a thing. Did you deal with the Thompsons?”

Nestor sat up in bed as he gave his report, “They have been erased. They will have no recollection of ever having heard of a manipulator. Your pawns have served their purpose.:”

The voice continued, “I don’t like the fact that the young one was there. This reeks of Lavender’s involvement. If she sent the boy then it's very likely that she is aware of the manipulator and has taken precautions to prevent what I intend to do. As it stands, something is masking his true nature.”

Nestor swallowed hard. He hated any orders that pertained to children, “Do you require me to do anything with the boy?”

There was a pause. Pauses were never good for business. Finally, the voice continued, “Take no action today. Let him return to his master and say what he will. The enchanter is already aware of our play I am sure. Any actions she takes from this point on will be futile.”

“Very well”, Nestor said, “As always, I remain at your beck and call.”