Mólafrey slammed her hands on her desk as she stood up and began to shout. "What do you mean you don't know where Ruth is? You two just came back a couple of hours ago. "
Lenora took a step back and began to pick at her fingers. "W-well… we were talking, and I might've pushed a little too hard. Then she got mad and stormed out. She said she was going for a walk but that she'd be back for our report, so I'm sure she'll be here any minute."
Mólafrey took a deep breath and sat back down. "I apologize. A lot is happening so quickly, and I'm a tad stressed."
Lenora waved her hands, dismissing the apology. "No need to apologize. You're right. I'm sorry for letting her go off on her own. Do you want me to go right into my report, or should I wait for Ruth?"
"You can start. I have an unfortunate task for the two of you after this, so it's best not to waste time being idle. So, was it the Unseen?"
Lenora thought for a second about how to answer, as both yes and no were valid in her mind. "Well, I'll start by saying the intel was off."
"What? How is that possible? There were multiple reports confirming the same number of vampires,." Mólafrey interjected.
Lenora shrugged her shoulders. "Ruth can back me up when she come's back too, she went her own way to take on two. For me, I entered a hideout and disposed of one, but then… there were five more."
Mólafrey widened her eyes in shock. "Five? Are you sure? Did you cleanse them, or did they get away?"
"That's the interesting part," Lenora said. ". I'm certain that one was the fourth vampire we were hunting, but the other four seemed entirely unrelated. I only got a decent look at one, and he snuck up behind me as I was preparing to fight with the others. But, instead of killing me, he spoke with me, told me it wasn't safe and that I should go home. Then he did something weird, and I couldn't move until they all left." Lenora continued.
Mólafrey's intrigue was plastered all over her ordinarily stern face. She leaned forward and grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil. "Interesting… I'm assuming the four you mentioned got away. Tell me what that one looked like."
Lenora hummed as she recalled the strange vampire's appearance. "I still couldn't see him fully, but he was wearing some kind of suit, had really unkempt hair like he just got out of bed, and he had these piercing, deep purple eyes. I've never seen anything like it before."
Upon hearing the description, Mólafrey snapped the pencil in half and stopped writing.
"Are you okay, Mrs. Mólafrey?" Lenora jumped forward in concern.
"I'm fine… are you sure about what you just said? What was he after?" She slowly looked up at Lenora, who felt like a hole was starting to bore itself right through her head from the intensity of the eye contact alone.
Lenora pulled back from the table and nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I'm sure. He seemed to be looking for something the Unseen might have had, but I don't have any further information on it. Maybe Ruth found—-"
The door to Mólafrey's office swung open slowly, and the sounds of the creaks and pops filling the room drew the pair's attention away from the conversation. Their faces went stiff when they saw the figure stumble into the room.
"Ruth… Are you alright?" Lenora squeaked out in a concerned voice.
Lenora's question remained unanswered as Ruth continued to enter the room slowly. Her expression was glum, and her already dead eyes seemed to become even dimmer. She stared off blankly into space as if she were looking at something invisible to everyone else.
Mólafrey snapped herself out of her shocked trance and dashed to Ruth from behind her desk. "What happened?"
Ruth stared blankly through Mólafrey's head and slowly reached for her pocket. "O-oh… right… the report… They had this." She slowly held up the slip of paper.
"Did something happen, Ruth? " Lenora said, finally snapping out of her trance.
"M-Fine… Just really tired" she mumbled as she backed away from Mólafrey and retreated to the bench next to the door.
The phone on Mrs. Mólafrey's desk rang. She reluctantly took her eyes off Ruth to answer it while Lenora went to see her.
"How tired are you? We have something to do after this!" Lenora shook Ruth's shoulders in what looked like an attempt to wake her up.
"We do? I guess I'll be fine," She grunted.
Mólafrey hung up the phone and then glanced at the address on the paper. It all seems to be pointing in that direction… I need some time to think.
She turned toward Ruth and Lenora. "Ruth, if you're that tired, you can rest. I'll try to get one of the few hunters that are here right now to go instead."
"With all due respect, Mrs. Mólafrey, I'd like Ruth to come with me. I've been away for so long. Plus, you know how everyone else is… it's not exactly like they're the friendly and nice type…" Lenora rebutted sternly.
"I wish you wouldn't badmouth your associates, especially right in front of me, but it's not as if I don't understand where you're coming from, Lenora. You two are closer than average hunters drawn here and taken in by circumstance. This place is far from home and your associates are far from family, "
"I'm fine. I can handle it," Ruth asserted with a shaky voice.
Mólafrey looked at the two of them and then heaved a heavy sigh. "Fine. Let me explain what's going on first. I can't stop you from doing what you please after. As you both know, Ms. Petra was just here. Something seemed off with the way she was acting. She's said she is meeting an associate somewhere in the city. I'd like the two of you to tail her and see what you find." She explained.
Ruth's expression remained unchanged, and Lenora's face lit up in shock. "That seems odd. She's always been insufferably mean, but she has never acted strange. What happened?"
Mólafrey shook her head. "I don't know. Furthermore, she has been imprisoning and conducting torture and interrogation of vampires in her city. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more going on that we don't know about. She wasn't always like this, especially when she first chose to be a hunter, but it's our nature to change. Especially as we grow older…"
Mólafrey's eyes lit up in realization.
"I can't imagine this being true. Ms. Petra is super strong and runs a compound. The power and resources that would be in enemy hands is dangerous." Lenora grabbed Ruth and dragged her to her feet. "In any case, it's just a little reconnaissance , right? I think Ruth will be fine with coming along. Right, Ruth?" Lenora gently nudged her with her elbow.
Ruth grabbed her arm to stop it from shaking and met Mólafrey's gaze. "Y-yeah…"
Mólafrey stared at the still visibly shaken Ruth. It was all too clear that she was lying and that she was really not okay. This is getting worse. She's becoming a danger to herself now. I want to forbid her from going, but what will she do if she doesn't?
She glanced down at the address again. That's right, this could be… "Alright, Ruth, I do not want you to go. However, I originally wanted you to go together, and I am not your parent, so if going with Lenora is what you want to do, then so be it. But if anything happens, you are to come to me immediately. I don't care if you've found her or not. Understand?"
Lenora quickly raised her hand in a salute. "Yes, ma'am! Do we have a location?"
"Yes, she ran toward the small theater near the train,". " Mólafrey answered, defeated.
"Got it! Come on, Ruth! Let's get out there and accomplish something. That'll get you feeling better, right?" Lenora grabbed Ruth's hand and dragged her through the door.
* * *
"Lenora… I think I changed my mind. I was lying when I said I was fine. I should go lay down." Ruth began to turn back toward the compound after passing the alley she had come out of earlier.
"No, no, no, come on. I want you here, Ruth, even more so if you aren't fine. I want you to feel better. I don't know what happened after you went out, but if this is because of me, then I want to help even more." Lenora insisted as she tugged at the end of Ruth's jacket, trying to stop her from leaving.
"Also… I want to apologize. I pushed too hard earlier, and I'm sorry. If you really wanted to talk about it with me, you would have."
That's not true… I do want to talk to you. But I'm not…
"If that's playing a part in how you're feeling right now, it makes me feel even worse." Lenora tugged at the end of Ruth's jacket, trying to stop her from leaving.
Ruth turned back toward Lenora. "You aren't the problem, Lenora. I am. Everything about me is the problem. I'm telling you, I really do not feel well."
My chest feels like it's going to burst, my breathing is ragged and light, and I feel like I'm about to collapse. What is happening to me?
"Even so, I want you here. I'll do all the heavy lifting, so you just hang back." Lenora said with a smile. She was so wrapped up in making Ruth feel better that she ignored the genuine plea for help.
Ruth looked down at the stones below her feet and walked behind Lenora. I think I'm going to vomit. Why can't I get the image of that guy out of my head?!
Lenora stuck out her arm to stop Ruth from moving. They both looked up at the quaint building in front of them. The small size of the building made it seem like any show performed here would give off the impression of being mediocre, no matter the performance. It was just a shabby hole in the wall compared to an extravagant hall or even the ballroom they had fought in earlier. "We're here. I'll go in; you stay here."
"But you're still recovering from earlier." Ruth reluctantly reached for her stake, even though she wasn't even close to being in the right mind for yet another hunt.
"What are you getting all antsy for? It's just a kid. But fine, stay close. We'll wrap this up quickly, and you can go to sleep, alright?" Lenora quietly pounded Ruth's chest with her fist and signaled to duck and follow her inside.
Lenora carefully led the way into the small lobby. She was treading carefully around the left side of the room, which housed the counter, a water machine, and the door to the showroom. She glanced over to Ruth, who was slowly sweeping the right side, looking under the worn couches in case there was anything there.
"It's all clear there, right?" Lenora signed over to Ruth after grabbing her attention with a wave.
Ruth nodded and crept over to meet with Lenora. "I feel like I'm going to pass out." She sighed while she took a seat on the floor.
"Ruth, look at you, you're sweating. Alright, stay here. The theater should be the only room left. I'll holler if anything big happens." Lenora patted Ruth on the shoulder and turned away to leave.
Ruth grabbed Lenora and used her as support to stand. "Wait, I can't let you do that."
Lenora shoved Ruth away. "Hey, can you just listen to me? You keep a lookout here."
Ruth leaned back on the store's counter and grunted, "Fine."
"Thank you." Lenora ran off down the short hallway toward the showroom, leaving Ruth alone in the lobby.
"This isn't right… why would Ms. Petra do this, and more importantly, why would she be so careless about it if it was true…" Ruth sifted through the scraps of information Mrs. Mólafrey gave them and what she knew about Ms. Petra and the Unseen.
The Unseen's kidnappings, experiments, selection trials, and their spread to this country in search of something. Now, compare that with Ms. Petra. She's always been holier than thou, so disregard that. There's the torture, interrogation, her coming all the way out here with the excuse of information when a phone call would be sufficient, that attitude she had with Lenora and me… I know there's something else.
Ruth's face lit up in realization. "Well, if it isn't the wolf and the little- *Ahem* the crow."
"Shit! I'm so stupid. If I had been able to lock myself up and go numb like I usually do, I would have noticed right away! That damn boy and those two guys from earlier…" She shot up straight and flung herself over the counter with half of her remaining strength to reach the phone on the other side.
Ruth quickly dialed a number on the phone and waited for an answer. She wouldn't be careless. This has to be a setup. I need to get Mrs. Mólafrey.
A voice came through on the other end of the phone. "Hello? Mólafrey's office."
"Ms. Jenny? Is that you? Where's Mrs. Mólafrey? I need to speak with her immediately. It's an emergency." Ruth nervously checked over her shoulders. Expecting an ambush at any moment due to the noise she was making.
"She isn't here. She was looking very seriously at a piece of paper and then suddenly gasped and told me to watch the phone as she sprinted out of the building. Do you need me to help?" The voice on the phone replied in a concerned tone.
*Ah! Shit!* A high-pitched screech from Lenora rang out from the showroom, along with a loud crash.
"Lenora! Sorry, Ms. Jenny, I need to go. Tell Mrs. Mólafrey as soon as she comes back, please. She knows what's going on." Ruth dropped the phone and hastily stumbled down the hall to find Lenora on the floor. She'd slammed into the wall so hard that it made a big dent around her body.
"Are you okay?" Ruth knelt down to check Lenora's condition. A rib or two was definitely broken, and a gash ran along her left eye from the top of the tip of her eyebrow to her cheekbone.
"Ruth, there's some insanely strong man. I don't know what he did, but one second, I had him pinned to the ground, and the next, I was flung back here." Lenora winced in pain, forcing herself to try and stand to her feet.
"I think this was a setup, Lenora. I tried to contact Mrs. Mólafrey, but she wasn't there. We have to handle this ourselves. Is your eye okay?" Ruth draped Lenora's arm around her shoulder and tried to help raise her to her feet.
Lenora touched the wound on her eye and winced in pain. "Yeah, it's not that deep; I can still see. That guy got me good. He's really fast."
"This isn't good. I can still feel you trembling, Ruth." Lenora pushed off the wall and regained her balance.
Ruth pulled back and grabbed her arm. "T-There's no time for that right now…"
"Well, well, well. Now, there is a face I haven't seen in a long time."
Ruth and Lenora slowly turned their heads toward the dark-skinned man stepping out of the busted door. He casually kicked a piece of wood across the floor and adjusted the jacket draped over his rich-purple suit.
Ruth's veins went ice cold. Upon laying eyes on the man, she felt the last vestiges of strength slowly begin to leave her body. "Arthur?…?"
He laughed hysterically and took an over-exaggerated bow. "In the flesh. That woman said we'd catch some interesting subjects, but never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined it'd be you, urchin."
Very confused, Lenora quickly turned to ask Ruth for an explanation. "You know him, Ruth?"
Lenora reached out to nudge the frozen stiff Ruth, her teeth uncontrollably chattering and grinding. "Ruth…?"
"This is one of the four commanders of the Unseen." Ruth managed to relay shakily.
Arthur scratched his head. "Well, I guess that's true enough. I suppose if we had ranks like playing cards, you would call me the jack. So, of course, you know that means I need to work extra hard at my job, right?" He chuckled.
Ruth caught her breath and grabbed Lenora's arm, pulling it toward her. "Lenora… I've only ever said this once before in my entire life, so you know I mean what I'm about to say… get out of here, now."
"Y'know, Ruth, I would love to, but I don't think that's possible right now,." Lenora nervously joked.
Arthur reached into his coat and beamed a knife into the wall between their heads, causing them to flinch. He looked Ruth up and down. "She's right, you know. Just what are you going to do alone? I'll admit, if you were in perfect health, then maybe… Okay, no, I'm lying. There's no way. So right now… I'm gonna kill you, and it's going to be fun. No escape for you this time."
He placed his hand on his forehead and pretended to fall backward. "This turn of fate is all so sad for you I could cry. " Ruth shrunk backward into the wall behind her, fighting with her instincts to sprint out of there while Lenora slowly reached behind her for her stake.
"Hold on. Are you actually planning on fighting back? Against me?" He cackled like a hyena, and so hard tears formed in the corners of his eyes.
"Let me tell you something, girlie. You've got no chance. I'm really good at spotting talent at a glance, and you ain't got it. No spice, no flavor." His hands danced around as he talked like they had a mind of their own.
Lenora tightened her grip on her stake and motioned to lunge at the eccentric man.
"Didn't ya hear me? You're bland, girlie." He quickly kicked Lenora into the wall and deeply slashed her already wounded eye again with his sharpened fingernails.
Lenora fell to the ground, the searing pain coursing through her body. She grabbed at her head and released an agonizing screech of guttural pain that radiated through the building and to the outside. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Ruth looked down in horror at Lenora crumpled on the floor. "Lenora?…." Her mind was going blank. She couldn't move. It felt as though her body had betrayed her with the way it was refusing to cooperate with the small amount of sanity she had left in her mind after the events of that night.
Arthur leaned in close to Ruth's face and teased her mockingly., "And what about you, little monster? Are you going to try something, too? Show me that zest of yesteryear that you are so known for."
Little monster.
"What?…" Ruth squeaked said as the name echoed around in her head, and her entire body buckled, finally giving in to the mountain of torment and falling to the floor.
*Tch* Arthur clicked his tongue, rolled his eyes in annoyance, and kicked the floor. "You're way less fun now. Dried out and for the dogs." He extended his sharp nails and prepared to slash down, cleaving a chunk out of Ruth's skull.
"Ruth!" Lenora screamed as she fought against the immense pain, pushing bringing her to the edge of blacking out. She pushed herself up off the ground, throwing her body into Ruth's, s. Shoving her aside just enough to block the hit with her body before it made contact with her head.
Lenora fell into Ruth's lap, blood from the gouge in her side gushing out onto them and the floor beneath them. Ruth stared down vacantly, numb from the shock.
"Hey… Hey Lenora…" Ruth whispered through the cracking of her voice. Unable to grasp what had just happened. Lenora coughed up a glob of blood and pulled on Ruth's jacket to position herself face up.
She laughed faintly and smiled. "Finally… looks like I was able to protect you this time."
Arthur sighed heavily. "Ugh, lameee. I was going to get to you next, but you just had to ruin the fun."
The window at the end of the hallway shattered open in an explosion of glass and metal. An object that looked like a blood-red spear pierced Arthur in the stomach, the force sending him careening down the hall and pinning him to the wall at the other end. He coughed up blood and looked up at the woman jumping through the hole in the wall.
"Ah, crap. 'The Bloody Valkyrie' I guess the party is over,." hHe said in a frustrated tone.
"Watch your tongue, demon." She The woman spat as she stomped down the hallway, her eyes tinted with rage. She flicked two of her fingers in a beckoning motion, and the spear ripped out of Arthur, flying back toward her. She forcefully grabbed it out of the air and prepared to throw it again.
Arthur, already healed, held up his hands in surrender. "Woah, woah, woah, calm down. I'm not fighting you at full health. I'll leave that to someone else."
She flung the spear again toward Arthur, but he easily dodged and grabbed it from the wall behind him. "Could you at least pretend you need your stake like a regular hunter?"
"Not when it's against one of you." She growled while pulling herself toward the spear instead of recalling it. Blood pooled around her hand, transforming into the shape of a spiked gauntlet.
"Oh, gimmie a break." Arthur sighed, staring at the wild beast charging toward him. He grabbed the opposite side of his head and quickly snapped his neck in half, pressing his head against his shoulder to dodge the hit.
The punch landed on the wall behind him, the impact blowing a hole right through the solid wood, sending shrapnel flying into the air. Arthur snapped his neck back into place and ran to leave via the broken window.
"Where do you think you're going?" The woman shook off the debris and snarled at him.
"I'm leaving. I know when I'm outmatched, it would really throw a wrench in the boss's plans if I just up and died before we got what we came here for." He shrugged and stuck his tongue out along with his middle finger.
"You think I'd let you go?" She proceeded to pursue him blindly.
"Only if you care about your oh-so-precious subordinates. It looks like one of them couldn't handle the heat and is about to start pushing up daisies." He pointed back at the two girls on the floor.
Awareness returned to the woman when her eyes fell upon the horrid scene. "Ruth, Lenora…" She rushed to them to assess their condition.
Arthur coarsely waved at the three on the floor. "Well… bye-bye now. I'm sure I'll see you again real soon. It's only a matter of time until the boss gets what he wants. He always does."
"Tell Victor the only way that'll happen is over my dead body," the woman said.
"Boy, would he love to see that!" Arthur yelled as he jumped off the roofs of the nearby buildings.
"Ruth, I need you to snap out of it! We need to stop Lenora's bleeding and get her to a hospital!" She shook Ruth's shoulders.
Ruth looked up slowly. "Mrs. Mólafrey…?" sShe whispered in a dead voice.
"Yes, I'm so sorry I was late. I should have known this was a trap from the start. But I'm here now. Let's get out of here, okay?" She ripped open the bottom of Lenora's shirt, revealing the wound in its entirety. Mólafrey could barely hide the look of almost complete despair as she laid eyes on it and the small pool of blood around them.
"She's lost so much blood…" The words of disbelief snuck out from Mólafrey's lips, b. Betraying her will to feign optimism.
"I know this is dangerous, but…" Mólafrey sliced her hand open with a shard of glass on the floor, pulled her blood out of her hand, and started to pool it into a ball suspended in the air.
"Ruth, move your hand. I'm going to stop the bleeding." Ruth pulled her hand away from Lenora's wound as Mólafrey pushed the ball of blood into Lenora's body.
"Alright… now let me close it." She passed her hand over the wound, sealing it with a thick layer of clotted blood. "That should stop the bleeding for now, but we still need to act fast."
Ruth, barely holding it together, nodded and began to get up but was stopped by Lenora, who slowly reached up and grabbed the collar of Ruth's jacket. "Ruth…"
Mólafrey and Ruth looked down at Lenora, shocked she could even move. l. Let alone talk.
"If I don't make it out of this one… when you die, come find me in hell, okay? It'll be just like the good old days…" Her voice began to fade, and her eyes struggled to stay open.
One of the last conscious thoughts flashed into Lenora's mind. She needs to know it's not her fault… "N… No… It's not… your fault…" Lenora pushed out before falling unconscious in Ruth's arms.
Ruth stared down at Lenora's limp body. Her head was filled with nothing but static, and fissures were opening all across her mind. "Hey…" she shook Lenora's body slowly.
"Ruth, we need to go now!" Mólafrey yelled.
Ruth remained on the floor, mindlessly shaking Lenora's body, expecting her to wake up.
She's completely and utterly dispirited… this is bad; It might even be worse than the first time… Mólafrey took in a deep breath. "Alright, Ruth, if you can still hear me, I'm going to need you to hold on to Lenora tight, okay?"
She slammed both of her hands together and felt a surge of power course through her veins. It's a good thing I can use blood magic without a stake. If I couldn't… there would be no saving her.
Mólafrey picked up the two girls and held them in her arms. She looked down at Lenora and then to the sky and chanted, "Gjöf guðleg vernd fyrir örugga ferð þessa einstaklings." She then sprinted off into the night at an incredible speed.
* * *
It's your fault. It's your fault. It's your fault. She's going to die, and it's your fault. Ruth paced back and forth across her small room, trying to breathe deeply and calm down.
"No, I need to be more positive. She was still alive when we left…" Ruth felt her heart sink and fell back against the wall, sliding down to a crouched pose and curling herself into a ball. "I'm sorry… it should have been me; I'm just a monster…"
The sun faintly peaked through the minuscule gaps in the covered balcony, making its way into her room. As the thin beams fell over Ruth, she lifted her head and looked toward the balcony.
Ruth stood up from the floor, her heart filling with the desire to gaze at the city during the day. The emotions from last night melding with this desire gave rise to a memory long locked away in her mind.
Dad! Are you okay? You're bleeding!
She took a step forward.
Don't worry, darling, it's just a shallow knife wound. I'm just glad everyone's alright.
She took another step.
Why would you do that?! That was dangerous.
And another.
Well, it's a little embarrassing to admit, but when I was a boy, I really wanted to be a good person—one who could help people. Protect and save them. But life got in the way of that for me.
She grabbed the handle of the balcony cover and opened it, revealing the view of the world she had been so distanced from.
Wow, I love that, Dad, it's really admirable!
Ha ha, look at you with the grown-up words! Do you really think it is? I thought you'd think it was lame.
Ruth gazed out into the vast city, taking in its view: the people walking on the streets, the noise from the sewers and pipes, shops just opening up for the day, some cars rumbling around on the streets, and the birds chirping. Even the odd pieces of garbage on the roofs seemed appealing.
It's not lame! Do… do you think I can be a good person like that too? Like you wanted to be?
Tears began to stream down her cheeks, her lips trembled, and her knees buckled, dropping her to the floor.
You can be anything you want to be, love, as long as you don't lose your way.
She finally looked up at the sun and released all the built-up poison within her in the form of a scream full of pure, unbridled sadness.
She wiped her eyes and nose and grabbed at her head. "What do I do?" she cried.
The door to Ruth's room forcefully swung open as Mólafrey ran to the source of the high-pitched wail enveloping the city. She ran to Ruth and grabbed her shoulders, turning her so they could be face to face.
"She's stable. Ruth, she's stable!" She yelled at her, making sure she heard the message.
Ruth pulled back and sat down on the floor. "She's alive?" A warm wave of relief and thankfulness passed through her body, allowing her to give a genuine smile of gratitude.
"She's asleep but alive. It seems I was able to stop the bleeding in just enough time for her to hold out for a transfusion and start the healing process. We have three hunters with her now working on the healing. They don't know when she'll wake up…" Or if… "But she's alive."
Ruth heaved a heavy sigh of relief with tears in her eyes. "Thank god… I thought I killed her…"
Mólafrey frowned. "Listen to me well, Ruth. None of this was your fault. No matter what may have happened to Lenora. It wasn't your fault."
"You're wrong, Mrs. Mólafrey. It was my fault, all of it. I just couldn't control myself anymore. I wasn't able to close my heart and turn my brain off… It only keeps getting worse." Ruth pulled her knees close to her chest. "Why can't I do it? I'm a monster. So I should always be one."
"You can't do it because you aren't meant to. You're supposed to have those feelings. You're supposed to be able to be happy and make your way, not live as a shell of your former self and never think, feel, or dream. That scream you just released over the entire city was all those negative aspects you had been forcefully chaining down, finally escaping. They can't stay inside forever. They needed to be let go for you to start anew and fill yourself with new things you desire."
Ruth looked out over the city. "I don't think that's true…"
Mólafrey stood and beckoned Ruth inside. "This is a direct order. Sleep. You've been up for two days now, and you've been through a lifetime of mental and physical torture in that span. When you wake up, you are to report directly to my office. Understand?"
Ruth pouted, but her body seemed to agree. She could feel the exhaustion creeping up on her from the past night. "You might have a point."
"Good. You no longer need to worry about Lenora's condition, so rest well." Mólafrey shut the balcony and the lights and left Ruth, who fell to the couch and drifted into slumber.
* * *
Mólafrey sifted through papers scattered around her desk and scribbled notes as she worked. The paper recovered from the Unseen poked out from underneath her notepad. She pulled it out and stared down at it, something she had done many times over by this point. Her mind wandered, considering the possibilities. It all seems to line up. This is such a huge gamble. But the payoff for her would be extraordinary if I'm right.
A faint knocking on her door pulled her attention away. "Come in!" sShe shouted while quickly organizing the mess on her desk.
"Oh, Ruth, you're finally awake. It's been two and a half days. I was beginning to worry." Mólafrey beckoned her over to stand in front of her desk.
"Sorry, I guess I was more tired than I thought… How's Lenora?" Ruth fidgeted with the pens and pencils in a cup on the desk.
"She still hasn't woken up, but her condition has improved significantly. They couldn't save her eye, but other than that, she's in perfect health. Now, it's just a matter of time. They are guessing a few weeks, but it's tough to tell with these kinds of things." Mólafrey was delighted to be able to tell the entire truth of the situation.
Ruth smiled and relaxed her tensed-up shoulders. "I see… that's great news. So she'll be there the whole time?"
"Yes, she's one of our most talented hunters, so they aren't going to let her out of their sight until she can back flip down the hallway." Mólafrey grabbed the slip of paper.
"That's good news." Ruth took a deep breath and hardened her demeanor. "So, who am I going to kill now?"
Mólafrey slid the paper across the desk toward Ruth. "I don't need you to kill anybody. My assignment for you is to investigate this address and the person living there. If they're a vampire, I am leaving it at your sole discretion what to do from there."
Ruth raised her eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean by my discretion? That's never been an option before."
"Well, it's the option now. I want this to be entirely up to you—no orders from me after this. Furthermore, I forbid you from returning to the compound until you complete this mission."
Ruth reluctantly grabbed the paper. "Are you serious, Mrs. Mólafrey? I live here."
"I am completely serious. You may live here, Ruth, but it's not your home." She glared at Ruth intensely.
"Will you entrust Lenora to me so I can entrust this to you?" She softened her gaze.
Ruth looked down at the faded address on the paper. "Okay. I'll do it."
"Thank you, Ruth, truly. It's night right now, so you can choose to go in the morning if you wish." She pointed to the night sky through the open pane of the window behind her.
"I'll just go now. Monsters work best under the cover of night, after all." Ruth grabbed the piece of paper and left Mólafrey's office solemnly.
"Don't come back," Mólafrey pleaded under her breath. She interlocked her fingers and rested her head on her hands. "Please, let me be right… let it be you, Azazel…" She invoked her deep desire in a soft whisper.
"Don't worry, Freyja, má lásko. All will be well."
A bolt of electricity shot down Mólafrey's back, and she quickly spun around in her chair toward the familiar voice that spoke out from the window behind her. "Otec! You were allowed to return to the surface?"
The man smiled and jumped down into the room from the window, allowing himself to be revealed in the light. "Yes, I just got back up here a couple of days ago."
Mólafrey crossed her arms. "It took you that long to come here?"
Otec laughed and hugged her tight, then sat on the desk next to her. "I found where you were rather quickly, but I had to make a quick stop first before I came to see you. Also, remember, I can only move in the night."
"Neil is making you move around by yourself? How stingy. You're forgiven, then. Now, as much as I want to spend time with you since it's been so long, business comes first. The Unseen have been turning up here searching." She pushed her chair back to meet his line of sight.
He pushed back his long, light-colored hair, adjusted his dark blue, floral-embroidered shirt, and sighed. "Yes… and I'm sure you know what they're after. Or rather, who?"
She rested her head on one of her hands. "I do… I didn't want to believe it, but all the information pointed in that direction. Is the time finally approaching?"
Otec looked off toward the sky through the window solemnly. "'Tis true. That's why I was allowed to come back. To be here for support, but don't worry, they will not succeed. He won't let them have what they're after, and he'll move heaven and earth to fulfill his role."
Mólafrey frowned, her eyes becoming glassy and welling up with tears. "Is there really nothing we can do? My heart aches when the thought crosses my mind."
He gave a light smile and chuckled. "Mine as well. But even if we could, do you think it would matter? A hopeless idiot will do what they want regardless of what they're told."
Her face lightened up and relaxed, and she leaned back in her chair, picturing Ruth. "I suppose you're right. I used to think that wasn't true until I met a second one not long after you left last time."
"Hey, now. You're making it sound like 'twas my decision to leave." He gestured toward the recently closed door. "Also, were you referring to the young woman who just left?"
Mólafrey sighed and rubbed her temples. "Come now, you know I would never blame you. But yes, the resemblance was uncanny, Otec. You'd never believe it since you weren't here to see any of it. That being said, it's been years, but I still can't properly deal with someone like that. Even until a few minutes ago, I didn't know what to do or what she needed." She leaned back in her chair. "I really am a failure."
Otec frowned and nudged her with his foot. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Freyja. I wouldn't say you've failed. What about love? Isn't that what you just gambled on? A couple of hopeless idiots?"
She stared at him with a bewildered look. "Please don't say it like that. It makes me feel weird. Putting love aside. Only one person in this world is even close to as inexorable as she is, maybe even more by a far margin. If anyone can do something, it's him. Though I'm still not certain, my guess was correct."
Otec smiled and chuckled, his mind flooding with thoughts from days past. "I see. Well, I was able to get an excellent read on her from outside, so I think we're both right. In any case, fret not on one front, zlatíčko moje. Your guess was indeed correct."
Mólafrey's eyes lit up. "Are you certain? How do you know?"
"One of the things I did before coming to you was go check. I saw the address on the paper from outside the window, too. It's the same place." He gestured, touching the tips of his two index fingers together.
She smiled. "I see. That's great news. To be honest, I want to go, I've been looking when I can for so long. But the responsibilities here are far too great at the moment, and I'm sure the time will soon come. How was the—"
Mólafrey stopped before finishing her question and looked off into space, feeling like she had been staked in the heart. The somber face on Otec gave her the answer without it needing to be spoken. "Oh…"
He crossed his legs and stiffened his gaze. "That's part of what I need to discuss with you—that and where I'm going after this. It would break my heart if you declined, but would you mind if I stayed with you for today?"
She sighed, pushing the negative feelings away. "You don't even have to ask. Of course. I'd say you can stay as long as you want, but we both know that's impossible. We just have to make sure no one sees you."
He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, Freyja. Now listen to everything I have to say carefully."