"Where are we going again?" Hunter asked Jade as he placed a box of bottled water in the trunk of the car.
"Skyhill, that's where you're from, right?"
"No, I'm from Skyline," he replied
"Is there a difference?"
"Yes. Skyhill is closer to the Met, while Skyline is further north," he explained
Sage walked up beside him, her dark brown eyes scanning the things he was bringing with him to their short trip, "Is the box of bottled water necessary?" She asked
"You said to bring my essentials"
"And?"
"This is my essential"
"Alright, get in the car,"
The two of them entered the car, Jade said nothing else as she ignited the engine and started the drive to Skyhill. The ride was to take at least two hours so Hunter decided to ask a question that has been on his mind since he met her.
"So Jade," he started, "you're a vampire right?" He asked
Jade turned to face him, Hunter could tell she was genuinely surprised by the question but she quickly regains her composure and her eyes move back to the road, "yes I am, how could you tell?"
"Your hand, it was really cold,"
"Ah," she smiled, "I haven't fed in months that's why ..."
"In months? I assume that's bad, I'm I right?"
"Not really, older vampires could go up to three months without needing blood, while younger ones tend to range from between two weeks to two months," she explained
"And what about you, where do you fall in all that?"
"Nine months," she smiled
"And when was the last time you fed?" He asked
"Nine months ago, I'm trying to see how far I can go without feeding"
"And you say the cold skin was a side effect?" Hunter asked, the last thing he wanted was for her to lose control and attack him, at least that's what he's seen vampires do when they've gone too long without feeding in most vampire flicks"
"Don't worry, you're safe," Jade said as if reading his mind
"Right ... why are we going to Skyhill?"
"An investigation, I was on my way there when Circe told me about you"
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience"
"It's fine, my partner and I volunteered to babysit you."
"Thanks ... I guess."
"No problem. Also, Circe wanted you to get registered in The Bureau and the closest branch is in Skyhill"
"Register? What?"
"The Bureau oversees every secret organization in the mystic world, it is a requirement for every agent to register with them."
"Cool ... So about Circe, when do I meet her?"
"You haven't yet?"
"No, she just waltz into the council and stood in my defense then once I was acquitted, she disappeared"
"She's such a drama queen," Jade says, a smile on her face as she shakes her head. She pulled up in front of a building called Second Turn Mall.
"Are we there already?"
"We are still in the Met."
"Why have we stopped?"
"I'd like some coffee"
"Would that satisfy your hunger?"
"Not a single bit, I just love the taste of coffee."
They got out of the car and walk over to the café next to the mall, taking their respective seat.
"How do you feed?" Hunter asked curiously
"The way you think we do it," she replied
"So you could just attack someone here and satisfy your hunger?"
"No," she laughs, "that would violate the treaty of 1592. I can't feed on anyone without their consent," she explained
"Finding someone who would agree to such a painful experience must be quite difficult"
"It's not painful unless I want it to be, matter of fact, the experience is pleasurable and we vampires have this thing called pets we could feed from any time we like." Hunter looked at her confused so she added, "pets are humans who willingly agree to serve us"
"Why would anyone willingly agree to become a pet?"
"I'd let you figure that one out"
A waiter soon appears to take their order, she was a young woman, and was of slender build. She had shoulder-length black hair and emerald-green eyes that resemble a feline's. She had an apron over her short-sleeved shirt and dark trousers along with a choker around her neck.
"Hello, what can I get you both?" She asked with her pleasant, airy, soft, and beautiful voice
"Oh hi ... Em ..." Hunter said stunned when his teal green eyes meet her emerald green ones
[You're doing it again, you're short-circuiting]
'No, I'm not!'
"What would you recommend?" He asked
"It depends on what exactly you are looking for but I'd recommend a mocha," she replied
"I'd have a cup of latte," Jade chipped
"Sure, I'll be right back with your orders," the waitress said before walking away to prepare their beverages.
"Latte huh? I always imagined you, agents only order black looking badass and all that."
"Please," she rolled her eyes, "there's nothing badass about drinking plain coffee bean water."
Hunter laughs.
A smile crawled into Jade's face, "Hopefully she still remembers my order," she added
"Why wouldn't she?"
"Because she didn't even notice I was here till I spoke, her eyes were only focused on you"
"Really?"
"Yeah, I think --"
"A mocha for the young man and a latte for your aunt," The girl said as she reappeared, placing their drinks in front of them
"Oh she's not my a --"
"You're not from around here are you, René?" Jade suddenly asked, cutting Hunter off, she had read the young waiter's name from the tag on her apron.
"No," she shook her head, "What gave it away?"
"You have a bit of an accent. Where are you from?"
"I'm from the Northland"
"What's it like over there?" Hunter asked
"Well, it's always snowing," she replied
"I assume you're already used to it and that's why you're lightly dressed despite the weather now?"
"Yeah, it gets so much colder in the North and I'm used to that"
"You sure?" Jade chipped, "my nephew would be more than happy to give you his hoodie"
"Oh it's fine," René smiled sheepishly. "I'll be over there, if you need anything, just wave me over," she said before walking away.
"So are you going to ask her out?" Jade asked
Hunter looked towards René who was now attending to another customer, her eyes catches his and she shoots him a quick smile.
"Maybe ..."
"Well," Jade rose from her seat, "I'll be in the car," she said as she placed the money for their coffee on the table.
Once René was done attending to the customer, she walked up to Hunter, "Hello again," she said with a smile, "where's your aunt?" She asked looking at the empty seat opposite his.
"She left ..."
"Okay ... Is there anything else you'd like me to get you?"
"Just your number," he said bravely, handing her his phone
"Oh," she said, her cheeks suddenly turning red. "Sure," she said, collecting his phone and typing in her number, "You didn't tell me your name yet," she said, handing him back his phone
"It's Hunter"
"I hope to hear from you soon, Hunter," she said, her cheeks turning even redder
"You will."
Hunter returned to the car and he and Jade continued their drive in silence after she teased him for a bit and told him about the case she was investigating: several supernatural beings found dead and void of their souls.
They arrived at a motel in Skyhill late at night and separated for their respective rooms.
[Looks like someone was here recently]
Hunter frowned as he took in the room, there was garbage everywhere and everything was out of place
[Well, I guess tonight is going to be a long night]
Hunter's eyebrow rockets into his hairline, "what's that supposed to mean?"
[You're a neat freak]
"No I'm not --"
[I've seen your memories remember? And it's fine, they are worse things to be obsessed about]
"Whatever, they should have cleaned up after themselves"
Two hours later, Hunter had finished tidying up the room, he picked up the bag he had stuffed the garbage in to take to the dump he saw outside.
Just as he opens the door to walk out of the room, he sees Jade, her hands still in the air as she was about to knock. "I thought you'd be asleep by now," she said, she peeked into his room, "why is your room much cleaner than mine?"
"Because I just cleaned it," Hunter frowned
"Wow ... Anyhow, I came here because I just received a call from the local PD chief, another body was found moments ago, they think it's the same killer as the one related to my case. Put on a shirt so we can get going."
"Can I at least shower first? I stink"
.
.
.
They arrived at the scene which was heavily guarded by armed policemen, the men let them through after Jade flashed them her badge.
It was an abandoned warehouse with empty crates at one end and the victim's body covered with a long dark piece of cloth. Jade hands Hunter a pair of hand gloves.
She lifted the cloth to look at the face of the victim, there was no physical sign of struggling or any sign she was attacked at all if not for one: her left hand had no skin, there was only the bone left there. "Yup, definitely my guy," Jade noted, "Can you wait here while I talk with the detective?"
"Sure"
Hunter squats down next to the corpse, she looked to be in her early twenties, her whole life was ahead of her. He placed his hand on her shoulder, as he thought about how cruel the world was. 'If only you could tell us what happened to you ...'
"don't worry, we are going to find out whoever did this to you," he said out loud.
Hunter felt the body suddenly turn warm and what he thought to be a corpse turned its head to face him.
He had seen, heard, and read a lot of crazy stuff but nothing would have prepared him for this. The woman opened her eyes, they were brown and began crawling from under the cloth.
Hunter's heartbeat picked up as he stumbled backward in terror, "what the -- no! Stop! Ahh!" He shouted.
The corpse suddenly stopped before moving back under to its former position like nothing happened.
Hunter placed his hand on his chest trying to calm his nerves, he looked back at the corpse, it was lying still under the cloth leaving him to wonder whether he had hallucinated the entire thing.
There was only one way to find out. So when he had gathered enough courage, he placed his hands on the corpse and felt its temperature, it was cold.
Hunter lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding before breaking into soft giggles, "I'm so crazy, what did I think was happening," he laughed
"Hey, you okay?" Jade asked, walking into the warehouse
"I'm fine," he replied, running his hands through his hair
"You sure? I heard you scream"
"It's -- I thought I felt the body turn warm and it started to come at me"
"Say what?" Jade said in shock
"I know it's crazy, I think I might just be t--"
"No," Jade shook her head, "what did you see, Hunter?" she asked
"I ... I saw it turn its face towards me"
"Was it before or after?" Jade suddenly asked, Hunter could tell she was afraid
"Huh?"
"Was it before or after you touched the corpse?"
"What does it matter?"
"Answer me damn it!" She demanded
Hunter didn't know Jade but he didn't take her as the type to lose her cool over nothing.
"After, it was after."
"Fucking hell!" She cussed
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