"Long time no see Everett…" A sweet voice called.
"Reflection?" Everett cried.
Squatting down in a field of golden wheat, Everett was shocked seeing tears roll down her cheeks. Her white dress flowed freely through the light breeze.
"Master Ayan trusted you Everett!" She wailed.
Like a shadow or ghost, she walked through Everett continuing to mourn, the back of her gown blood shown through in splatters. Was she really talking to him? He wondered.
Waking up in front of the dirty graffitied brick building, sirens from a lone cop car pulled him out of a thought that instantly hit him where he was. Dominique and Gavyn stood by his side and Alex to the back as he had instructed earlier.
"Master Everett? Are you okay?" Dominique asked.
"I was just thinking, we must enter it seems," Everett answered.
Dogs barking distracted him from concentrating, the bad part of town scared him more than usual. Generally, Dominique and Gavyn have often come out to these parts on his behalf to handle cases or simple calls.
Everett's legs bowed inwards shaking slightly, Alex gawked at him curiously.
"You are really nervous aren't you?" Gavyn laughed.
"Shut up!" Everett yelled.
The door of the abandoned building opened without them attempting to enter, Everett could feel sweat droplets swiftly run down the sides of his face. He steps in first, his shoes crunching over the broken glass.
His cautious nature had him sigh in relief, Gavyn and Dominique burst into laughter.
"Master, you could have stayed home!" Dominique stated.
"Stop humiliating me in front of the damn newbie!" Everett shouted.
Gavyn shoots past them all crashing into the flimsy metal door, he only shrugged confusedly. The rest follow peeking around the corner.
"Was this the right address on the letter Master Everett?" Gavyn commented.
Banging on the rails of the building could be heard, hands rapping against the siding had everyone looked above. A large group above scream and shout making a noise.
"The girl is up here!" A voice echoed.
Alex crawled up the stairs, Dominique hauled him back by the collar slamming him against the hard cement. The browned-haired kid gave him a glare.
"Let me go you already!" Alex argued.
"That's what they want, idiot!" Dominique chided.
"Pffttt!" Alex said, sticking his tongue out, "Cowards!"
"Oh the child is frisky, come on up already." The stranger said.
"I am not a child!" He yelled.
"Sure, why don't you prove it? My name is Shaan!"
Alex growled, bowed over, his eyes and started to fade into an amber color the longer he became angrier. Everett patted his back; Shaan had short black hair, he donned a dull military uniform.
"Alex, you need to stop that," Everett assured him.
"I can't stop…I don't know what to do…" Alex answered.
"Trust your instincts." Gavyn smiled.
"I-I…alright." Alex conceded.
"I am waiting for you and you are all being boring!" Shaan started yawning.
Shaan ogled the small team gathered at the bottom of the rotting structure in the wreckage of the gutted insides. Gavyn started giggling to himself like a puppet with no framework he bent down bobbing his arms down.
His head jerked side to side, his arms and legs seesawed left to right like a doll. His legs limped forward. Arching back he stared up at Shaan snapping back in place like a rope toy to normal position.
Gavyn bolted up the steps throwing out his hands to thrust his daggers out at Shaan, he evaded the attack. Screaming down below had him look away a second, Shaan took a swing with his newly morphed hands hurling Gavyn to the side.
Strong bulbous hands growing hair extending outwards, the sound of his bones growing could be heard cracking and splintering, he howled in pain writhing in agony to let his body adjust to the transitioning. His eyes grew slender, his ears pushed upwards as his nose elongated into a snout, the creature now hobbling on all fours lurching at Gavyn now dressed in brown and white fur.
Shaan had Gavyn pinned at the top of the stairs with not much room to fight in, his deep snarling breath exhaled as though he was a dragon and not a wolf in nature with no fire.
"Gavyn, I got your master." Another cheered in celebration.
"Everett!" Gavyn shouted.
Alex was conked out in Dominique's hands held by the scruff of his collar, his body dropped to the dirty flooring.
"Domin--quie…" Gavyn said with shock.
"About that…you won't remember anything when I am done," Dominique replied.
"You knew?"
"Of course I did, but I didn't want you to get hurt either," Dominique explained.
Everett is thrown to the wall collapsing into the hard surface, the look of heartbreak could be seen on his face. Dominique hammered a kick to his master's face.
His sanguine fluids running from his damaged nose, Gavyn completely paused on the stairwell unsure what to do. "My doll phase is unusable here…" He whispered.
"Speak up!" Shaan growled.
"I said you need a mint," Gavyn muttered.
Hauling Alex from the ground Dominique strolled to the gate on the other side of the room knocking the padlock off.
"Now…Shimon, you got the boy. Now what?" Dominique asked.
Shimon parts the kid's lips, glancing over at Everett. He taps his newly drawn fangs sending a pang of aches into his sensitive new canines. Parting his hair lovingly he kisses his head taking the wrapped blanket around his neck to wrap around Alex.
"He doesn't belong to you!" Gavyn shouted.
"Shut the hell up! It must be nice to live in a cushiony home!" Shimon threatened.
"Or what?" Gavyn demanded to know.
Withdrawing a piece of cyprdrenite from his tattered clothing, lying the kid down, he unbuttoned the top half of his shirt exposing a symbol when placed on top. A red circle manifested with a jagged bar through it, slowly another circle faded in from the middle.
"He wasn't completely allergic to cyprdrenite, the problem was whoever pushed him into the earthly human realm didn't want him to be here," Shimon noted.
"Don't tell me he was meant to be a vampire?" Everett gasped.
"Meaning his fate is greater than we expected." Shimon added, "But not yet…"
"Master Shimon, do you want to do it now?" Dominique asked.
Clutching his master's face, smoke could be seen rising from the palm of his interacting his memories, Disposing of all the current ones except his hatred of Shimon; passing out during the process.
"You are not doing that to me!" Gavyn called out.
Dominique trudged up each step one at a time, his hands on the rails guiding him up to meet his dear friend face to face. Shaan to the back of him and Dominique confronting eye to eye.
"Don't be mistaken…this is nothing against you." Dominique voiced.
"Domin…"
Gavyn's body is pushed over the banister, Dominique quietly placed his head on the floor saying nothing more.
"His poor fiance though, I will make something up." Dominique spouted.
"Good, Everett is terribly weak." Shimon stated, "Has the witch found the tool bearers?"
"She hasn't answered me yet," Dominique replied.
"Where is Everett's tool bearer?" Shaan asked, "She was a beauty."
"Last I heard was journeying, tools shouldn't get holidays," Dominique answered.
Dominique boosts both Everett and Alex in each arm, taking one last look at Gavyn's corpse.
"Were you attached to him?" Shimon questioned.
"Like a child to a dog…nothing more…"