《Hell in Us》Chapter Three: Why me?

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Adrian found Death sitting at a desk as she wrote in a notebook, strangely illuminated by the red moonlight of her dimension in the otherwise pitch black room. Adrian adjusted their purple lace shawl as they watched her. Death looked calm, but the state of the room around her screamed chaos and frustration. A collection of handpicked, gothic black furniture was thrown around and now lay haphazardly on the ground. Several of the pieces had huge holes, as if they had been kicked or punched, the edges of which were charred to a crisp. The drapes were given a similar treatment. It looked as if someone tried yanking them from the wall and half succeeded before they redirected their anger elsewhere. Half of them were burnt away, their tips still smoking. Shards of broken glass and wood lay scattered across the floor.

Adrian looked down and noticed a small fire had begun, caused by black candlestick that had been knocked over. They stepped on the flame with a casual stomp of their high-heel boots, and exhaled quietly. They hesitated to step forward but shook their head, their long ponytail swinging back and forth. With each swing, their hair changed to a different color. “I’d like to avoid your wrath, but something is clearly wrong. This place looks somehow worse than where I just came from, and, milady, it was littered in corpses.”

Death didn’t bother to look up. She continued to write as she spoke to Adrian sharply, in a controlled annoyance. “I’ve been tasked to find teachers for a learning establishment. It must be my sunny personality. How else would I be dealt with such a thing?” She gripped the book she held tightly. “Did you know that fools make up most of the population? Out of the small pool that’s left, we find the lazy, the distrustful, and then, the downright ignorant. It’s no wonder Lorelei left this to me.” Death haphazardly glanced in Adrian’s direction. “Excuse me, I didn’t mean to be so rude. Why are you here?”

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“You told me to check in with you after I dealt with the problem child. Don’t really think the problem is in that child, though.” Adrian crossed their arms as they leaned against a bookshelf.

It wasn’t until that point that Death actually looked at Adrian, her attention fully drawn. “From what I’ve heard, you could fill pools with the amount of blood she spilled. Even if someone did something to provoke her… I can’t see how you would justify her actions.”

Adrian shook their head, “When I got there, she was feeding. When I talked to her, at that point, she couldn’t understand me. She could understand my power but little else. After I knocked her out, she had no idea what happened. It was like she woke up from a haze.” Adrian’s pale green eyes scanned over the books on the bookshelf absentmindedly as they thought. “I couldn’t pinpoint her class. I believe she looked to be around an A, but I could tell she was still hungry, even after all she had consumed.”

“It sounds to me.” Death interrupted sharply. “That this is the standard tale of a vampire thinking they can control themselves, but then letting loose on innocent victims.” Death rubbed her temples as she continued in a softer tone. “But there is obviously more, so continue.”

“No, that’s far from what this was.” Adrian went on. “I’m not trying to justify her actions. But you, ma’am, didn’t see her. When I escorted her… well I would hesitate to call it home.” Adrian’s eyes narrowed, and they let out an audible exhale, “To say the least, it is not a safe environment for any child.”

Death raised her eyebrows at that. “Is that so?”

Adrian rested a hand on their hip as they continued. “I don’t know what’s going on in that house. All I know is that they sure were eager for her to be dead. I think they asked me about twenty times if I was sure she hadn’t slipped to the other side. I’m not trying to sway your judgment, but I think it’s worth investigating.”

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Death waved her hand in the air haphazardly. “That decision is out of my hands. I’ll let Lorelei deal with it. I think you’d be pleased to know that, what she has up her sleeve, at least that involves that girl, isn’t anything akin to our line of work.”

Adrian walked over and looked over Death’s shoulder at her paper, curiously. “I was surprised to hear that you two were joining forces. You mentioned teachers? For a learning establishment? Sounds to me like I’ve been out of town too long. What brought this about?”

Death started to write again as she spoke, “I went and saw Tanda as soon as I heard about the massacre.”

“I felt her pass early this morning,” Adrian said thoughtfully. “Did you…”

“I had this feeling that something was coming. It proved to be right.“ Death ignored their interruption. “Tanda told me that if we can’t bring the factions together, we’ll all pay the price. This center, it’ll be the start of a unification. We’ll educate the youth about the past, the real past, and teach them how to be more agreeable.”

“Sounds like you need someone who’s seen it all. Someone who’s lived countless lives throughout the centuries, has seen way too many horrible things over the years. Someone who still owes me $20 and a pizza, but do you hear me complaining?” They rolled their eyes theatrically as they threw their arms into the air. “Yesss.”

Adrian pouted, but Death just looked at them. “Lorelei is the only connection in the fae I have that is anywhere near neutral. Even if I could find Nathaniel, which would be a feat in itself... Even if he did agree to teach children, what makes you think that Lorelei won’t have a fit when she finds out? You know as much about what happened between them as I do. Pretty much nothing, but even I know that bringing them together would just be asking for trouble.”

Adrian gave Death a look of annoyance. “You’re not going to sit there and pretend like you don’t know exactly where that man is.” Adrian sighed, “Ma’am, if you are this worried about what could come to light, then don’t you think it would be more helpful to have your most trusted advisors by your side?”

Death stood up and squared her shoulders. “You’re right.” Adrian grinned, and she glared at them. “Don’t you get smug, now. Who knows how long it would take for your ego to deflate. If you would be so kind, would you try finding some other willing participants that might be able to teach at this… school? Don’t meet with them, just record them for me. I want to meet with them personally.” Death turned and, yet again, disappeared into the darkness.

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