Chapter Three: Master or Mistress

~ Marie ~

“Just a dream.” The scent of blood lingered past the nightmare but there was no use dwelling on it in the here and now. Taking one last deep breath, Marie stood up and went to take a shower. Since Mark was sleeping in her room, she would just have to wear the same clothes. It wasn’t a big deal for her though. Marie used a spell to clean them before leaving the room. Lara had taught her the spell when she was still an apprentice and didn’t know how to do basic chores. The spells had worked out better for her than using a mop or broom. Ever since then, Marie had used magic to clean. The magic needed for the spells was small, it didn’t cost her anything to use it instead of normal means.

Halfway down the stairs, she stopped and stared at her bedroom door. Should she lock him in her room? She wouldn’t have to worry about him testing her bluff. Marie shook her head. It was only a few errands. Nothing that should take her so long that she wouldn’t be back in time.

After a quick breakfast of coffee and toast with a side of vitamins, Marie grabbed her jacket and headed out. She stopped and waited for several cars to pass before crossing the street. The access road ran right in front of her house. Depending on the time, the traffic on the road differed but not by much. At ten in the morning, the traffic wasn’t as bad as it would be in two hours. Lunchtime was always heavy with traffic. Marie zipped her jacket up and put her hands in her pocket as she continued down the sidewalk and under the highway. She watched as several of the homeless people crossed the street and sat down on the other side. The underpass was normally where the homeless liked to sit to get out of the sun. About fifteen feet from the underpass was an intersection where they would hold up signs and try to beg change from passing cars and the occasional pedestrian. Not that any of them ever begged from Marie. Not so much as a glance was cast her way but that was fine by her. She had nothing to give.

The breeze pushed her hair back as she continued towards her destination. It was already starting to feel like autumn, with temperatures starting to finally drop into the low eighties and high seventies. The cool wind felt great after the kind of summer she had.

Summer in San Angelino was hot.

Always.

And with temperatures in the hundreds, walking from place to place had been unbearable. Not that it stopped her from doing what needed to be done but there were several times when the thought of not accepting any more work had crossed her mind.

Marie stopped on the side of an all black building and went down the small alleyway that separated it from the building next door. On the outside, it looked like a bar closed for the morning with its dark tinted windows and large neon butterfly lights turned off. The Purple Butterfly was closed to the public until the evening. Only certain individuals would be allowed past its doors during the day.

Once she came to a door marked ‘Employees Only’, she stopped and knocked on the door lightly. The door opened to reveal an old man, hunched over, leaning heavily on a cane. Wisps of white hair curled around his head as his pale blue eyes squinted at her through thick glasses. Marie waited patiently while he inspected her. Eventually, he nodded and shuffled to the side allowing her entrance. The doorkeeper of the Purple Butterfly might look like a pushover but anyone who tried to get past him would not live to see tomorrow. He was invaluable to a place like this where all sorts of people from the Deep End would come.

This was true neutral ground.

A place where factions and personal grudges didn’t matter and where any item or good could be bought. However, just like anything that was a part of the Deep End, nothing was as it seemed. More than money was used to purchase items and if the buyer wasn’t careful, the cost could be far more dangerous than the item itself. This was a place best used in moderation. As a precaution, Marie stuck to only things she could purchase with money. She wasn’t enough of a fool to go beyond that.

As soon as she crossed the threshold, the door behind her closed without being touched. Marie shut her eyes for a moment to get used to the dimly lit hallway before opening them again. The small hallway was littered with boxes and brooms. The old man had disappeared but she knew that he was still studying every move she made. If she or anyone else caused trouble here, he would be back. Carefully, she picked her way around the boxes and made her way to the front. Marie opened another door and strode towards the counter near the back. There were more lights on in here but they were dimmed down low so as not to be blinding. Around the counter, several people were already sitting down. A few turned to watch her progress for a moment before turning back around. Marie ignored them as she picked a spot on the other side of the counter to sit.

“What will it be?” A short, round man with salt and pepper hair that was balding in the middle stopped in front of her. The bartender was dressed in a white button down shirt with a black tie.

“I’d like to place an order and a cup of black coffee.”

“Coming right up.” The bartender reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper and a pencil. He placed it on the counter in front of her before disappearing into the back room. The paper listed requirements like her name, the item she wanted and when she needed the item. Marie filled each of them out and turned the paper over when she was done. She should get an answer back quickly since what she wanted wasn’t rare in a city filled with vampires.

Marie still felt eyes on her but she continued to ignore her observer. Whoever they were, they would have to be content with staring. She wasn’t going to do anything unless they followed her outside. In here, any magic she used would be taken as an act of aggression and quickly punished. Even something nonviolent would be seen as violating the sanctity of neutral ground.

She turned her attention back to the bartender as he returned with her cup of coffee. The form was returned to her before she had even taken a sip. Marie flipped the paper over just enough to skim it. There was a quote listed and if she agreed with the price, all she had to do was put the money down. Marie pulled the money out before sliding it and the paper towards the bartender. She began to sip her coffee as he went and got her a receipt.

“Thank you for your business.” She put her half filled cup back down as she put the receipt back in her pocket. With her business here done, she left and went on to her next stop. No one followed her as far as she could tell.

Marie made sure to keep an eye out as she stopped at the bookstore. She wanted to browse the collection. Marie frowned for a moment before she headed towards the cash register. Adding relevant information to her library was a constant goal but with someone at the house it was better just to pick up what she ordered and just move on. She still had errands to run. Marie would need to make sure to swing by a grocery store to pick up some more food after this. Then she needed to wait for her delivery at the house.

A small smile touched her lips for a moment. She might even get more of her research done before the boy woke up.

*~*~*~*~*

After her groceries were put away, Marie went to her study and placed her new books on the floor next to the door. The table would have been her usual choice but there was so much stuff on it that it was hard to tell there was a table at all. Half still held her research and several versions she had written, while the other half held most of the books she used. Hmm. She glanced back at the living room before looking at her table. There was still plenty of time left according to her watch. Marie sat down and began to shuffle the papers in front of her. She pulled a fresh sheet out and set about rewriting only the relevant information.

Several hours passed, before she finally had something she was satisfied with. Marie stood up and stretched as she glanced at her watch again. It was a little past two. Time for a break. Marie moved to the kitchen to get some coffee and maybe something to eat. She took a bite of her sandwich as she waited for the coffee maker. Marie thought over the case so far. It wasn’t much.

There were three vampire clans in the city. Each of them had a mix of vampires and humans in their group, though their numbers differed from clan to clan. The clans were the most careful about keeping their secrecy since they had a lot more to lose. So why would any of them send over three young vampires to her house? The vampires that had been sent were too young to use their Voice properly.

Based on her reading, a young vampire needed to be trained in the use of their ability. At the beginning, using their Voice was sporadic and was not something they could do at will. Only through constant training would it become a weapon they could use whenever they wanted. Why send someone like that to a human’s house, least of all, a Guardian’s house? It didn’t make sense. Someone must have been in a rush and sent out whoever was at hand. Considering that Adrian came personally, it was unlikely they came from his clan.

So who was it?

Westfall vampires mostly kept to the north, northeast part of the city. The Bel Meade vampires kept mostly to the south part of the city and the Stone Oak vampires kept mostly to the west side of the city. That wasn’t to say that they didn’t have houses and business in other parts of the city, just that they mostly lived in those areas. Solitary vampires were mostly located in the east but they were solitary for a reason and would be unlikely to have the manpower. However, it didn’t mean that it was impossible for them to form a group either.

That was all the information that she had on them. More information was hard to get given their secrecy. She sighed as she dusted her hands off over the trash can in order to get rid of breadcrumbs. Marie went back to the counter and leaned against it. This was getting nowhere. It would be better to question Mark once the sun went down and hope he remembered more about what happened.

The doorbell rang. Marie went to the front door and opened it to be greeted by a brightly smiling man in a khaki uniform and hat.

“Marie Williams?” He offered her a small electronic pad to sign with one hand while he held her package under his other arm. She signed it quickly and handed it back. He took the pad back as he handed over her package. “Thank you very much.” He nodded at her before turning away and briskly walking back to a white van parked in her driveway. Marie closed the door with her foot and used magic to lock the door.

Back in the kitchen, she opened the package and began to unpack the blood sitting at the bottom of the foam box. Marie put her hand to her chin as she looked around. Where could she store it? After deliberating for several moments, she decided the best place for it was the fridge. If that didn’t work, then she would come up with something else. Marie opened the fridge and moved the food to the side. The blood was put on the right in neat piles. She stared at it for a moment. It was a little odd seeing blood sitting there right next to food but it was only temporary. She’d bought enough to last him for a week. Beyond that, she would play it by ear but hopefully the case would be solved by then.

Now that her afternoon was free for another couple of hours, now would be a great time to go over the books she just bought as well as clean up her study. Maybe reorganize some of the books to make it easier to find things.

She sighed.

That had been her plan but now it was already six forty-five and she was only halfway through cleaning the piles on the floor. She really needed to get another bookshelf. The other half had nowhere to go since all the shelves were full. She put her hand up to her chin as she contemplated. Maybe she should put some bookshelves in her room. That way she could put the more valuable books in there. Hmm. Now that was an idea. Marie stretched one final time before she headed upstairs. It was a little early but there was a good chance Mark was already up. The sooner she got some answers, the sooner he could go home.

Marie knocked on the door and waited for an answer. Nothing. A small frown tugged at her lips. Should she try again or come back later?

“Come in.” His voice was sullen but at least she got an answer. Marie turned the knob and entered the room. The curtains were closed but the light was on. The boy was standing by the window with his hands in his pockets on the right side of the room. He didn’t move and only watched her as she took the only chair and pulled it towards the bed. Marie sat down and waited.

Would he ignore her? Or was he already given an order?

That would make things tricky if that was the case. After a moment, Mark made his way over to the bed and sat down. He stared at the floor as his hands gripped the bedsheet in a fist. Since it didn’t look like he was going to start, she should talk first.

“I wanted to ask more questions about last night.”

“Do I have a choice?” He glared at her as he hunched his shoulders.

“Yes. You can answer my questions and help this case get solved faster. Or you can keep your information to yourself and slow down the case considerably. The choice is yours. I won’t use magic to force you to speak to me.” Torture was also something she would never use. Though saying it out loud probably wouldn’t convince him.

“But you won’t let me leave.”

“If you had no restrictions on you, would you stay?” He blinked for a moment before he averted his eyes.

“That.. Um...No.”

“Once you left here, Adrian wouldn’t let me see you and he wouldn’t share any information he discovered. If this is just a simple case of vampires fighting vampires then he would probably be fine.” Mark nodded along with her explanation. It was very easy to see that he admired the man. “However, If this is a case involving magic, would Adrian be able to keep you and the rest of your clan safe?” He frowned as his hands tightened around the bedsheet again.

“There… “ He swallowed visibly. “There might have been magic used.” Mark wasn’t meeting her eyes as he spoke.

“Why do you think so?” Based on the way he acted earlier, it was unlikely he was sensitive to magic or knew anything about it.

“I...” He stopped talking and glanced up at her quickly before he stared at the window. “I went into your library and in one of your books there were symbols. I think I remember seeing some of them that night.”

“Does your Master have a countermeasure for magic?” Mark flinched and his shoulder went up a bit before they came back down to their original position.

“I-I don’t know.” His voice was soft.

“I can protect you against magic.”

“What if the two of you worked together?” Mark gave her a weak smile.

“That is a possibility.” It wouldn’t be a good idea to shut his hopes down since he might stop talking. “Are you willing to answer my questions now?” He grew quiet as he fidgeted on the bed. Mark took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before nodding his head.

“What do you want to know?”

“Do you remember the last place you were before you woke up next to the body?”

“I was walking back to the safehouse on— .” Mark cut himself off. He was probably about to say the street where the safe house was located. Obviously, vampires guarded the secret of their safehouses very carefully. Wouldn’t want to be attacked by other vampires. Or humans.

“I only need a general area or the last street you remember being on. I don’t need an exact location.”

“Um. M-Montview and Northway, I think.” He fidgeted some more before going silent again.

“Do you remember them kidnapping you or seeing anything suspicious?” Mark looked up for a moment before shaking his head. “When you woke up, did you recognize any of the people yelling at you?” Again he shook his head. “Were the ones chasing you the same ones that yelled at you when you woke up?” No again. “Did any of them harm you or did you wake up this way?”

“I woke up this way.”

“When you woke up, did you feel really tired, dizzy or numb?”

“No. I was a little stiff but other than that I was fine.”

“Did you see anything strange when you woke up?”

“I think I saw symbols on the ground but I don’t remember exactly what they looked like or anything like that. I just know that they didn’t look like regular letters.” Hmm. Hopefully, the crime scene would shed light on these “letters”. If he did see script written somewhere, then magic was definitely involved.

“Do you remember the place where you woke up?” Mark opened his mouth to answer but he snapped it shut immediately. His eyes took on a faraway look as he tilted his head to the side. Mark avoided her eyes as he shook his head. Tsk. Adrian must have told him something. One of the unconfirmed pieces of information she had stated that vampires could communicate telepathically. She had just witnessed it but she wasn’t happy to have this piece of information confirmed. If he gave Mark an order, there wouldn’t be a point forcing the issue. A Master’s orders were absolute. “Anything else you remember?” He avoided her eyes as he shook his head. Adrian really needed to teach him how to lie. “Thank you for cooperating. There’s blood in the fridge. If you need anything else, let me know.” With that she stood up and made to leave.

“Wait!” Mark jumped up and took a step towards her. His fists were clenched at his side as he stared at the floor. He raised his head and looked her straight in the eyes. “What does a Guardian do?”

“My job is to help others.” They had gone over this already. Adrian must have said something that made him doubt her.

“And?” Marie tilted her head to the side. What else did he expect her to say? She wasn’t lying. Everything she did stemmed from that duty. Mark frowned as he stared at her.

“We can talk about this later. I have more guests.” His head snapped up at the word guests. “There’s two of them.” She already knew it wasn't Adrian. The man was fine coming to her house on his own, he wouldn't bring others. Mark looked down and sighed again. He cleared his throat as he glanced at her then away.

“Can I… Would I be able to stay in some other room?”

“The room next door is the same as this one.” She didn’t understand why he would want to change rooms. They were pretty much identical.

“So it’s okay?”

“Go ahead.” Marie followed him out as he went into the other room. She waited until he had shut the door to the room before she placed a quick spell on the door to keep it shut. With that done, she went downstairs to see who was at her front door. According to the defenses on the house, there were two vampires standing at her front door. She put her hand to her chin as she thought about how she wanted to handle this. The last time there had been multiple vampires, they had tried to eat her. Hmm. Marie sat on the sofa and waved her hand. The door swung open to reveal two of the vampires from yesterday. Their leader was nowhere to be seen.

Both vampires stiffened and plodded into the living room upon seeing her. They knelt down about two feet away from her and kept their eyes to the ground. The one closest to her reached into his suit and pulled out an envelope. He held it out to her, careful not to meet her eyes. Marie took it and examined it for a moment for any signs of magic. None. There was a gold ‘B’ and ‘M’ printed on the front in flowing cursive but other than that there was no other identifying mark. She opened it and inside was a check for a large sum of money.

“Our Mistress apologizes for the behavior shown to you and would like you to accept this as a token of gratitude for your gracious attitude.” Mistress? Wasn’t the Master of Bel Meade a man?

“Tell your Mistress that the transgression is forgotten.” Marie slid the check back into the envelope and put it on the sofa next to her. Later, she would shred it. It wouldn’t be good for someone who was supposed to be neutral to accept bribes from anybody. The one wearing glasses shrank a little as he cleared his throat.

“Our Mistress would also like to know if the boy under your care might be released into our custody.” His voice wavered at the end a little. Marie stared at him. The man flinched and looked away.

“Why does she want him?”

“I’m sorry. I can not say.” Another order. Not that it was likely he knew anything of worth. He was probably a low level pawn. Someone easily disposable.

“Tell your Mistress that until my investigation is over, he will not be released into anyone’s custody.” Marie waved her hand and the front door slammed open. The vampires took the hint and immediately scrambled to their feet before bolting out of the room. She closed the door again with a wave of her hand. This was worse than she thought. Without knowing why Bel Meade was involved, she might be operating on a time limit without any clear idea of how much time she had left. This was a problem that needed a quick solution.

Speaking of problems, there was one she had been ignoring up to this point but now it was going to get her full attention. Marie picked up the envelope and took it with her to the kitchen. She ripped it into four pieces before she dropped the pile in the trash. Marie dusted her hands off before turning to her other guest. Adrian was leaning against the counter as if it was natural for him to be there. His polite smile was firmly in place but his eyes burned with anger.

“Done inspecting my house?”

“This needs to be fixed.” He tapped the fridge with the back of his hand.

“It has food and blood. What more is needed?”

“You can’t honestly tell me you think that is enough food.”

“He's not going to be here that long.” It’s what she ate most of the time but he might be right. There were two people living here now. She had no idea how much Mark would eat. Well, if he finished the food, then she would just buy more. Adrian didn’t answer for a moment, just stared at her through narrowed eyes. Finally, he tilted his head to one side before his smile grew wider.

“You still don’t know where the crime scene is. How are you going to get the information?” Her eyes narrowed as she looked back at him.

“I don’t need your help."

“And you think Bel Meade will help you? After you declined their offer?” He was right about that but she didn’t want to accept his offer either. Marie worked hard to keep the frown off her face and her emotions even. Obviously, he would ask for something in return. Without anything to bargain with, this was only going to go his way. But she also needed to get this solved quickly. Did she have enough time to search for the crime scene herself?

“What do you want?” His smile turned into a smirk. He was going to be trouble.