Law of Shadows

“Children are to be held in high esteem, as they aren’t common among our kind.”

- A memory of the Old Ones.

***Carinthia***

***Sely***

“Yes!” I spread my legs wider, allowing him easier access. He pulls out and dives back in, using his entire length to shatter my core each and every time. My whole belly tingles and when he bends down to force me against him, an earth-shattering orgasm rocks my entire world. I still feel my body burning as the aftershocks of the best orgasm I ever had ripple through my muscles. And then I open my eyes and realize where I am.

I am lying spread-eagled on my bed, legs raised in an awkward position. Lowering my legs slowly, I sit up to find myself and the bed in a sweaty mess. He did it again! Clenching my hand to a fist, I start hitting the wall next to my bed, adding to the previous dents. “He did it again! Bastard!” I howl in rage, vowing that I’ll use every chance I get to return the humiliation.

Annia stirs in her bed on the other side of the room. She sits up and picks her ears to pull out a set of earplugs. “What’s wrong, did he do it again?”

I stop violating the wall which is in danger of developing a hole to the room on the other side. “He did it again! Four days in a row. If the bastard shows up I’ll… I’ll… I don’t know what I’ll do! But one thing is for sure. It will involve blood. A lot of it.”

The door opens and Eva takes a look inside, wearing nothing but a luscious night gown. “Have mercy on me, it’s eight in the morning. I need my vampire sleep… what did you do to my wall?”

I jump up and pull her into the room, slamming the door shut behind her. Then I grab her at the throat and lift her good ten centimetres into the air. To make my point I shake her a little for good measure. “You will tell me where he lives! Now!”

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The vampire doesn’t fight back and chooses to place her money on the fact that her kind can’t be choked to death. “Hi, Annia. Your sister seems to be hot and bothered today. Is she in heat? Forgive me for asking, but I don’t know your kind that well. I just had the thought because the satyr next door is trying use my staff without payment.”

Why exactly did we agree to stay in a whorehouse?

“No. It’s just that the lord is visiting her in her dreams and she doesn’t like the fact that he has complete control over the dream world. Sis, why don’t you let Eva down? She is a nice person and doesn’t deserve the way you are treating her.” Annia gets up and heads over to the bathroom.

I drop the vampire and curse. “You shouldn’t have befriended her! She doesn’t show any respect since she believes that you are on her side.”

Annia answers from the bathroom. “I am on her side.”

I throw up my hands and focus on the vampire. “Listen, I am going to go crazy if this goes on for one more night. There is no way that the bastard can lock me in his territory and use me like some kind of pleasure tool! I am actually afraid of sleeping by now.”

“If I let this go on any further, I can forget about renting out this room.” Eva studies the damage I did to the wall. Then her eyes wander to the messy bed, making me wish that I could disappear and make the shame go away. I am not a prude, but what this guy is doing to me scrapes at my limits.

She purses her lips. “I always knew that he is capable of heinous acts, but the fact that he isn’t even willing to see you is a new low… Even for him. Okay, I’ll help you. I don’t know where he lives, but I do know where he will be tonight. There is this shop at the ring-street, the Diamond Mox.”

Annia returns from the bathroom, fully clothed, and sighs. “I’ll go and meet with Angelika. After all there is a distinct possibility that we’ll be thrown out of the territory tonight.”

Eva waves as my sister leaves through the door. “Make sure that my granddaughter takes you out with her friends instead of reading books. Paint the town red.”

I hit my open palm with my fist. “Then I’ll use the remaining time to prepare.”

“We are here.”

A few hours later Eva, Annia and I are at our destination and I search the street to determine which one is the shop Eva spoke about. “Which one is it?”

Eva gestures at the shop directly in front of us. “We are in front of it.”

I study the colourful window display with trading cards, board games and drones. Then I read the illuminated advertisings. Friday Night Magic at the Diamond Mox. Every Friday from 17:00-24:00.

“That’s a game store,” I state the facts.

Eva sighs. “Yes, our lord. That’s what he does when he isn’t out to kill people.”

I snort and enter the shop. When I open the door I also set off a wind-chime, but none of the people inside seem to be bothered by it. A quick survey of the room tells me that most of the men are human. There are only two or three supernaturals among the players.

The shop is a single, large room. To the right side is a counter, while the walls are taken up by shelves. Beyond the entrance spans a large, open area with several tables. My target is no more than three tables away, his back facing to the entrance. He is concentrating on a card game with a human as his opponent.

I stroll up to his table, taking position right next to it. “I am so glad that we meet again. Seems to be destiny!”

The Old One looks up to me and rolls his eyes. He really rolled his eyes at me! As if I am nothing more than an annoyance! Wasn’t he the one who forced his way into my dreams and did, did-

The human who is playing with him interrupts my thoughts. “Whoa! Siegfried, do you know this chick? She is one hot device!”

“I know her, Fred. Why don’t you concentrate on the game? We are having a tournament after all,” He answers. I get the time to study him for the first time. Dark, brown hair and a face that radiates authority. He is attractive, but his grim expression doesn’t fit him. When I met him in my dreams the memory always turned hazy soon afterwards. Seeing him now… he is kind of sexy?

I decide to tease him and smile. The beating can be done once the negotiations fail. “So your name is Siegfried?”

The Old One shudders. “Of course not! I am just using it as an alias. Why don’t you go somewhere else until I am done here?”

“Did you two have a one night stand and are fighting now?” Fred interrupts again. “If so, then why don’t you take it on with me? That loser isn’t any good with women anyway.”

Is this really happening? Do I have to deal with his human friends to get an interview? I smile at Fred. “Maybe? Are you sure that you can stand up to Siegfried?”

“Of-”

The human never gets to finish his sentence. Faster than even I can react, the Old One reaches up and places a hand on the human’s head. Then he slams him down into the table. His head dribbles thrice like a basketball, then he slides off the chair. On his way to the ground he takes some of the neatly arranged cards with him.

The room which was filled with laughter and the voices of people is stunned to silence. Did anyone see what happened?

Siegfried is immediately up and to his feet. “Oh, my… Paul! I always told you not to ride the chair like a child.” He pulls the unconscious human up and gestures for some friends to help. “There is ice in the fridge. He hit is head on the table, so I doubt that he’ll finish the tournament.”

“Should we call an ambulance?” Someone asks.

“Yes, maybe you guys know first aid?” Siegfried admits hesitatingly.

One of the men fiddles with his cards. “Maybe we should forget about this night’s tournament.”

None of the others disagrees.

Siegfried throws his cards into his backpack and smiles at the others. “If it’s like that, then I’ll take my leave.” He unhurriedly leaves the store and I follow him. Once outside, he sets his eyes on Eva who is using my sister as a shield. I’ll have to speak with the vampire about that.

He takes out a package of cigarettes and lights one of them. “So. What do you want?”

I wrinkle my nose at the sight of the cigarette and take a position upwind from him. “I want that you stop haunting my dreams. Then we request sanctuary in your territory. In return we will pay you with some priceless artefacts.”

“As I see it, you are already hiding in my territory. And since I am the lord, I get to do what I want.” He blows smoke into my face and I cough. Is that marijuana? He is becoming less attractive by the second. I clench my teeth and ball my hands to fists.

Surprisingly it’s Annia who stops the situation from devolving further. She pulls out a sheet of paper. “Excuse me? If you would listen for a moment? I want to call upon the clan-rules.”

He furrows his forehead. “There are no clan-rules. I am the lord and my word is the law.”

She shakes the sheet of paper and a long list of very tightly printed paragraphs unfolds to the ground. “But there is a compendium of laws for your territory on supernatural.net! It clearly states that any refugees from other clans are allowed to stay for a month until their status is resolved. I think we fall into that category. And if not, then we want you to take responsibility!”

His eyes flash red and he snatches the paper away from my sister. “That’s over a hundred years old. My parents wrote that. How did it get into the internet!?” He snorts and lights the paper with his cigarette.

“Do you want to say that you don’t care about your parents’ ideals?” I ask. Parents and family are important among Old Ones. At least if they aren’t dickheads who sell their children to gain power with the other clans.

He draws a deep breath and studies the neon sign above the game store, thinking about something.

I cross my arms in front of my chest. “And what happens if our encounter had consequences?”

He drops his cigarette, shocked. “Consequences!? Didn’t you make sure that there are none!?”

I study my nails. “Nope. Didn’t even bother.” Why should I? I am a hundred and eighty with no children. Even if it’s some asshole’s child, I would be glad about it. We Old Ones have so few children, I never expected to have any. “So don’t you take care of the women you sleep with?”

“We-”

I raise a finger. “Dreams count! Don’t tell me that you have no interest in me if you visit me for days. Any decent man would at least take care of his woman.”

He closes his mouth and pulls out another cigarette. “So you are my woman?”

I slap the weed from his hand, not tolerating it. “Don’t go too far. So do we have a deal? You give us decent accommodations and in return we pay you with artefacts.”

He sighs. “I don’t have much. And which artefacts?”

Annia retrieves her backpack from her shoulders. “An amulet that allows the user to pass through Veils. An energy core to gather power for rituals. A rune-set that explains power runes. An old Christian cross that works against real demons. And a fertility statue with a blessing enchanted onto it, predating known history.”

He studies Annia. “I suppose I should lock away everything of value when you come along to live with me?”

Did he really just imply that we are thieves? I snort. “Why should we come with you? Don’t you have some safe place we can use for our own?”

“In fact, I have not. You will have to stay in my apartment until I can find something for you. And I suppose that you are coming with me because Eva left you on your own.” He gestures at our surroundings.

I look around, but can’t find the vampire anywhere. “When did that bitch run away?”

He raises his hand and wriggles it. “When you slapped the cigarette out of my hand. Boy, that girl can run. Probably she thought that the street will go up in flames.” Then he studies the parked cars and walks up to one, opening it with magic.

My sister follows him. “Don’t you have your own car?”

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He looks down the row of parked cars towards a red SLK with two seats. “We can drive with mine if you want to take the boot?”

Annia shakes her head and we get inside behind him. Leaning over, I whisper to my sister. “I think that this may not be the wisest choice we ever made.”

He obviously overheard me and turns around. “You do realize that one week ago, I drove my SLK and did what I want. Everyone was too afraid of me to bother with my territory. Now I most likely have a blood feud with the Hammons on my hands, since they certainly won’t allow me to steal two of their women, not to mention that amulet. And worst of all...”

For once I can’t find any fault with his issues. I wait for what he deems even worse in our situation.

“… I am driving a family car!”