'Out of the frying pan into the fire.'
By some stroke of horrid luck, I've ended up in quite a rough predicament. A solution that makes everyone happy. And more importantly, one that sees everyone walking out of this alive. That's what I was searching for, but have I really found it?
Currently, Fang's unconscious body is tied to one of my dining table chairs. Both his hands and legs are properly secured and bound courtesy of Charlotte.
"Veri, are you sure this is even worth it? Do I need to remind you that this guy just tried to kill both of us? In my opinion, even if we do let him go, nine out of ten times that choice comes back to bite us in the ass. That freaky vampire lady is right on the money when she says it's best to kill him.", Charlotte spoke candidly, staring at me directly in the eyes. Somehow in my patheticness, that fact made me just as uncomfortable as the thought of killing Fang.
Sprawled out on the floor, Charlotte stood over me as she talked. If she had taken a few steps forward, I would've been able to see her underwear. It was a fun thought that totally didn't make my heart beat even faster than it already was.
"As a powerful monarch, I'd be amiss if I allowed a golden goose to spill from my grasp and run off. Ah, now I'm in a stage of such nostalgia. One hundred years have passed since I last met a spell caster of his talents. Watching him die a dog's death would be regretful.", I really did my best to match my usual over-the-topness, but my tone of voice was off.
"So you're just going to talk him out of being evil? Or threaten him? Or hopefully a far better idea than those two options?"
"Uh..."
She totally got me on that one. I only planned to talk to him and find some middle ground between the two of us. Still, Charlotte is quite quick on the uptake. She's accepting this crazy, nonsensical reality far faster than I'd expected. Not that she looked comfortable or calm in the slightest, her hair's been an absolute mess since we got here.
"Come on, let's call that vampire lady down here and-"
"It'd do you good not to doubt my expertise. Trust in me and this will all turn out perfectly."
At times like these, my first instinct would be to turn to Cacophony for a solution. We've been together a lot recently so it's become a learned behavior. But that wasn't an option right now. After knocking Fang out, Cacophony marched up the stairs and locked herself in my room. Though she didn't say anything, I had a feeling she'd only come out once the hour time limit was up. That also meant that once that door was opened, Fang's fate would be sealed.
"Alright," Charlotte sighed, "but what's your plan then? You can't just expect to reason with him when he wakes up."
Her pressing me on the matter wasn't helping. I was racking my brain over this enough already. Looking at this all objectively, killing Fang is likely the best outcome for our side. But the thought of watching him die, witnessing the end of his life, it irked me. This wasn't a move I pulled out of some kind of bravery or courage, it was a move rooted in the mess of fear bulldozing through my body.
But now that I think about it, almost every outcome scares me. If this ends up destroying my current relationship with Cacophony it scares me. Now that Charlotte knows about all this, I don't know what she'll do and that scares me. If I mess this up and mages from all over the world come to this city to hunt down Cacophony. If I've misjudged Fang and he's more heartless than I first thought. And, and,...
Right now, I'm terrified. As the minutes ticked by, I tried my best to mentally prepare myself for the conversation.
When Fang finally began to stir, Charlotte and I exchanged a glance. She took a step back, giving me space but staying close. I sat up, my heartbeat a pounding drum of uncertainty.
Fang's eyes opened, and for a moment, they were filled with confusion. Then recognition and aggression flashed across his face. He struggled against his bindings, but Charlotte had done an excellent job. He wasn't going anywhere.
"Let me go!" he demanded, his voice rough.
"I'm not here to hurt you," I said loudly and quickly, but as I went on, my voice seemed to diminish. "Calm down and you know we can have like a chat or something. I mean, you don't wanna kill us that bad... do you?"
Holy hell! For a starter, that didn't exactly ooze confidence!
"Huh? Calm down and what?"
For the first time in my life, my meekness may have salvaged the situation. Still, his anger and aggression seemed to disappear completely as he said that. No, that might not be right, there was this feeling when he said 'let me go'... It's similar to... similar to something I know. I didn't get this feeling back in the hallway...
Before I was allowed to respond and readjust my statement, Charlotte spoke up. "Isn't this the time to be begging for your life? The only reason that you aren't a pile of bones and ashes right now is because he just saved your sorry ass."
Fang's voice returned to its original roughness. "Like I ever be grateful to you two! I mean with that colorful hair and makeup, Charlotte aren't you basically just a clown? And this guy-! Oh, well, actually... who even are you again?"
You know what? Maybe this bastard does want to die?
Without needing to turn back, I could hear the neurons in Charlotte's brain firing up to conjure up a vile, degenerate comeback to Fang's words. Hoping to keep her at bay and move this conversation forward, I smiled and spoke.
"Alright, if you must know, my name is Veri, the great Dark King! I've slain many evils, rode countless awesome mounts, and been entangled with many beautiful maidens. I know, I know, you're wondering how you can reach the apex of creation just like me, you know what, just for you, I might let the secret slip!", I faked a smile, my words didn't mean a thing. Not that they meant much any other day.
Fang looked to be thoroughly confused. "So... is Charlotte one of those beautiful maidens you're entangled with?"
Glancing back, I quickly looked forward again when I saw Charlotte's glare.
"Ah, well, that's a bit different."
"So, one of those 'maidens' must be that disgusting vampire."
This is getting us nowhere.
"Alright, enough with the insults," I said, trying to make my voice firmer now. "Let's get to the point, Fang. Why are you doing this? What do you hope to gain?"
Ah, that's bad. My voice cracked near the end of my statement. It was supposed to sound cool too, like a scene in a movie where everything gets all serious.
The edges of Fang's mouth were trembling. He was trying not to laugh. As I looked at him in the eyes, his eyes darted away.
"S-so how long do you plan to hold me here? Aren't your parents gonna come home soon?", Fang asked. Obviously, he was trying to move this conversation forward. At this point, he was basically helping me.
"I don't have to worry about something like that happening. The only people who live here are Cacophony and myself."
"What about your parents?"
I scratched the back of my head before I replied. For me, this wasn't the most pleasant of memories. I still remember that argument from way back then. Instinctively, my mind was thinking up different lies and delusions to avoid speaking the truth.
When my mouth had finally opened I simply said, "They'd rather we live in separate houses."
My head really must be a mess. My timing with my delusions has been totally all over the place. Just now, I ended up speaking the unhidden truth.
"Not on good terms... I get it."
Is this the third or fourth time? I'm not sure, but all of a sudden, I can see the indistinct outline of a path forward. A bridge that could carry me through the infinite distance!
"Well, how about you? You only moved here a few months ago right? Was it because of your parent's work?"
He scoffed in response to my guess. "Haven't you been paying attention at all? I come from a family of mages, not some low-brow pencil pushers who'd be forced to move for work."
It seems my bridge needs a little more work. Sadly, time wasn't on my side. I should've checked the clock when Fang first woke up, but in my nervousness, I failed to do so. I wasn't sure how much time had passed since he first awakened.
Feeling a chill at the back of my neck, I jumped up and turned around. Charlotte stood there with a can of iced tea.
"Found this in the fridge. Thought you might be thirsty."
Now that she mentioned it, my throat had become a bit dry. "Why thank you, my dear Watson. Now, it's time that I cracked this case once and for all."
"Whatever you say."
I sat back down and turned toward Fang once more. Cracking the can open, I raised it to my lips, and-
...
He's eying up the can big time.
"You... want a sip?"
"If you're offering, I won't refuse."
I stood up and walked over to him. Right as I was about to bring the can to his lips, a dastardly idea popped up in my mind.
"Hold on, before you drink, I think I need a little something first."
"The hell's that mean?"
"Well, how about you tell me the reason you moved here? You've been talking big about how you're from some mage family, but if that's the case, why'd you move out here all by yourself? I mean, this is halfway across the world from where you were born."
Fang looked annoyed, but he answered, "I'd rather not live with my family."
"Got into a fight with them?"
Fang's gaze shifted, flickering with a mix of emotions. "It's not like that. I hate them, always have. We've never not been fighting."
"Hmmm... Alright, open up."
As promised, I let Fang drink some of the iced tea. By the time he was done, three-quarters of the can had vanished.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to hear more about your family. I'd appreciate it if you could tell me a story or two. Also, I'd love to know about the ultimate spell that Cacophony was asking about! In exchange, I'll tell you about a couple of secret techniques that I've picked up over the years."
Fang's eyes narrowed, suspicion flickering in their depths. "You think I'm just going to spill all my family's secrets to you?"
I shrugged nonchalantly, though my heart was still racing. "We're in a situation where we can either find common ground or... Now listen, in my hundreds of years of experience, I've seen bad things happen to plenty of folk like you and I'd hate to see it again. Come on... work with me here."
"Yeah, work with the barely sane guy who goes off rambling every few minutes."
Damn it. Out of everyone who could've attacked us, why'd it have to be this stubborn idiot? Does he even understand what's going on right now? The lady behind me and the lady upstairs want to totally off you man!
Fang's jaw tightened, it seemed as though he'd been thinking. "Hey, do you know what my full name is?"
"Like, what your last name is? Naw, can't say I do."
"Do you even know what my first name is?"
"Huh, it's not Fang?"
"Zhi-Qian 'Fang' Huang."
"Z-zi... hua-uh-hua-huh?"
"If you can't say it then don't you bastard!"
For an uncultured guy like me, foreign names are super hard to remember. Only a few seconds later I was struggling to remember what he'd just said.
"So the Hoala are some bigshot mage family? You know back in the day I met this mage who-"
"Huang family, but yes. They're one of the Ten Great Families in fact."
"That sounds important. What'd they do to get you to hate them?"
"Fine. You want a story? I'll give you a story." He paused as if weighing his words carefully. I can't say that I know why he told me what he did with any level of certainty, but to me, he looked as though he'd wanted to get it off his chest.
With his head downcast, he began to speak, "The reason that I didn't show that vampire my 'ultimate technique' is because I can't use it.", He moved his head up slightly, just enough so that he could gauge my facial expressions. "Since I was a child, I've had little talent for magic or anything involved in magecraft for that matter."
"No way! The way you were fighting with Cacophony was amazing!"
"That's only because you haven't seen a real fight between experienced mages. That fight just now was no better than a rookie going against a world champion."
"If that's the case, why'd you bother fighting in the first place?"
He tilted his head and looked at me blankly, "You don't know the answer to that question already?"
Should I know the answer? Well, I do have a bunch of scattered pieces that I haven't connected yet. Going over everything I know... No, I don't think I can make a fully coherent picture without a little more information. But, I do know what he's talking about.
"You wanted to protect your life here. You said something like that earlier. Guess you really hated your life in China. Did being talentless make your life hard over there?"
"Not hard, it made my life hell."
His body language shifted once more. He slumped over slightly and lowered his gaze. "Well, I'm gonna die anyway, no point hiding anything. I lived in a mansion you know. It was a giant mansion out in the mountains. My father, the head of the family, was a powerful mage. So was my mother. And so was my older brother, my younger brother, my sisters, everyone, every single person around me had overflowing talent. How about me? It took me years to learn the most basic combat spell. I was the odd one out. In a legendary family with thousands of years of history. Yeah, thousands of years worth of people and their experiences, yet I was the only one that lacked talent."
His voice grew bitter, filled with years of suppressed anger. "Not a single day. There wasn't a single day where I was allowed to be happy. I was a disgrace that everyone hated. I'd be lucky if they laughed at me behind my back and not in my face."
I hadn't expected something like this. It seemed Charlotte was the same, her expression had softened considerably. Maybe now she began to see what I saw in Fang.
He continued "There was an old shed on our property. I'd go there every once in a while to relax. One day when I was ten I found a dog. It was hiding in a shed on our property, sick and starving. I took care of it in secret, fed it, nursed it back to health. But one morning, my younger brother dragged me out of bed early in the morning and took me to the shed. He'd set it on fire, with the dog still inside. He laughed as it burned, and when I ran to my father for help, he just said, 'I've no time to spend worrying about a useless mutt.'"
A shiver ran down my spine as I imagined the scene. Fang's voice was cold, and emotionless, as if he were reciting a long-forgotten story. "From that day on, I swore I'd leave that place, leave my family. I dedicated myself to finding a way out. I hate them, I hate them with all my heart. When I was sixteen, I convinced my father to let me move to Miami. He probably thought I was just running away, but I saw it as a chance to start over. To build a life where I wasn't just the worthless son of a great mage family. Then, not even a year in, you had to appear."
I get it now. It all makes sense.
I smiled, this time it was a smile so gentle it only could've come from the heart. I was glad, so so glad. My gamble had been correct. As everything clicked in my mind, I knew the path forward, the path toward my ideal outcome. "Talentless, unloved, and whatever the hell else your family seems to think about you. Fang... you're not a bad guy at all!"
The feeling from before, I realized what I thought it was similar to. It was myself, the lies that I project outwardly. How he didn't shoot to kill back in the hall and when he was chasing us. The way he hesitated to hit Cacophony's chest. This whole stupid conversation! Zi-zu-hua, whatever his damn name is, Fang is a good person, despite everything he's been through!
From what he's told me, from what he hasn't told me, I know for a fact, it'd be too sad for him to die today!
Even if I think it's impossible, even if I'm the worse person to do it. Infinity or whatever, who better to gap such an unfathomable, insane distance than a Dark King!
As I looked back at Charlotte, she held up five fingers. Without exchanging words I understood the meaning. I only had five minutes left. Now was the time to let out of all reservations and go all out.
I shot up from where I was sitting and walked up to Fang. With a finger pointed in his face, I made a declaration.
"I've heard your pleas! Let it be known such that even the heavens shutter before my words. Engrave it upon the land, sky, and sea. Engrave this upon your very soul. Fang, from this moment onward, you are my ally. As such, you are also appointed as Cacophony's third servant of the modern era."
The expression on his face, he's looking up at me like I'm a lunatic. "As... As a mage, it'd be shameful for me to serve a vampire! Much less a Vampire Empress! As a young child, I'd heard the stories about that woman. The fierce, monstrous Vampire Empress! No way am I serving her!"
"Wow, she's that well known. You've also heard stories about the great Dark King Veri as well, right?"
"What? This is a competition for you or something?!"
"Fang... do you hate me?"
"Of course! How could I not hate a vampire's servant? Not to mention how mindlessly stupid you are!"
"Nope, sorry, don't believe you. From now on, your everyday life here and my everyday life with Cacophony will coexist."
"They can't coexist! Don't you understand that! If that monster stays here, it'll ruin everything sooner or later. I won't be the last person to come after you, don't you get it?!"
"We'll have to deal with that when the time arises, won't we? As a fellow servant of Cacophony, I hope to have your assistance when the time comes! Believe me, she can be a handful sometimes, but at the same time, I find her absolutely stunning."
In response to my final sentence, both Fang and Charlotte reacted.
"You're... I...", Fang looked completely deflated. His mind was likely a melting pot filled with all sorts of ideas.
He looked at me, his eyes searching mine for any hint of deceit, but I could say with confidence that there was none to be found.
Then the heart-sinking sound of Cacophony coming from the stairs made me freeze in place. I guess our time was up.
There was one final question to be answered, would Cacophony be satisfied with this outcome? Sweat dripped from my forehead as I watched her casually march into the living room. She still had a hole through her arms, but she still seemed to not be paying it any mind.
With the mundaneness of getting a morning coffee, she grabbed my arm and tugged on it. My entire body was dragged closer to her and without warning, she bit into my neck.
I closed my eyes as she sucked my blood. I didn't want to see the look on either Charlotte or Fang's faces.
Once she finished, I noticed that her arms had been healed.
Stumbling through my words, I attempted to explain what happened between me and Fang.
"I know. With my ears, I could hear every word. Given the outcome, I'll accept that I can't kill the boy. Also, I'll accept him as a servant. But, all that being said, I need to hear it come from his mouth first."
Fang looked at Cacophony with a mixture of fear and defiance. His jaw clenched, and for a moment, I thought he might refuse. But then, with a resigned sigh, he looked down, avoiding her gaze.
"I... I accept," he said quietly.
"Accept? What exactly are you accepting?"
"Tsk! You're just as vile as Veri... but purely, and I mean exclusively, for the sake of my life here, I'll accept being her servant."
Cacophony's lips curled into a satisfied smile. "Alright fine. I guess I'll allow it. Now that we've reached this understanding, we can move forward."
I released a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. Exhaustion hit my body like a semitruck. This was it, the best outcome.