Vivienne

Taking a moment to swallow the mouthful of food he’d taken, Brian nodded. “Okay.  I still don’t want to talk about this, but it seems that my subconscious has made up my mind for me.”  Rubbing his soft goatee for a few seconds, Brian reached in his pocket and handed Denise his phone. “When Captain Jonah drove us back to the farm, I called Casey to try and find out if what you showed me was a lie or the truth.”  He shrugged and took another quick bite and felt the relief of his energy returning as the portion of food settled in his stomach. “I also wanted to know if she killed those people.”

The Darla handed Brian back his phone, having never looked at it. “I don’t need to see that to know the truth, Brian.”  Wetting her hands again, Denise broke off some clay from the bigger ball and started forming another hand. “Since you are sharing, I will.”  The Darla turned and looked Brian directly into his green eyes. “However, I will wait for you to finish up before I say anything more.  What I will tell you, should make things a bit easier.  Love can be tough at times.”

A spine tingling sensation rippled across Brian’s body when Denise peered into his eyes. -I get it.  Something is off..but..I can’t leave.- He sighed and glanced around nervously, trying to avoid Denise’s creepy gaze. “When she didn’t deny much, I had enough.”  He held up two of his fingers, “Two years I dealt with her cheating and lying.  I had enough.”  He started shaking his head, “You know, she just told me a few days ago that she loved me.”

“She does, Brian.”  Denise flashed her bright yet false smile to her student. “Love can be painful.”

Brian shrugged and took another bite of his sandwich, “Yeah, I guess.  I just wish that it didn’t hurt so much.”  Brian put his phone back in his pocket, “I guess I regret ending it.”  He balled up his fist and shook it, “She asked how I knew what happened on the bus.  I gave back an answer that she gave me a few days ago…I was under an NDA.”  He snorted, “The conversation got worse from there.  She told me that the guy was drunk and she’d been drinking…”  He waved his hand, “I didn’t pay attention and just said I didn’t care anymore and that we were done, then hung up.”  

“That’s love, Brian.”  Denise put the second hand down on her table and began shaping a leg. “You still love her, even if you can’t be with her.”  Denise nodded, “I said before we are in a similar situation…I just keep faith that the woman I love will come back to me.”

“I guess that is why I didn’t leave after the call.”  Brian offered and finished off the sandwich, “I can’t just leave her with a vampire.”  He pointed to Denise, “You were going to tell me something else?”

Denise poked a thin wire through the leg she’d made and pulled it free, “Yes.”  She widened the hole in the clay until she could see light easily through it. “It should make it easier to love Casey.”  She waited a moment, “Wendy was the one who killed those people.”  The Darla gracefully pulled up the images of evidence for Brian. “I confirmed that she was manipulating you from the beginning.  Half-truths at best.”

Watching the images scroll past him like pages from a newspaper, Brian turned red and jumped from his makeshift seat. “How do I know you aren’t doing the same to me?”  He nearly screamed at Denise and opened his palm.

“You don’t.”  The Darla put down the gray lump she’d been working with and stood up. “I would suggest that you get control of yourself, Brian.  You are about to do something you can’t take back.”  The Darla walked calmly to the edge of the quarry and held up two fingers. “First of all, I didn’t have to tell you anything.  Second, I am not your enemy…however if you want to, go ahead and give it a try.”

Filled with rage and pain, Brian focused on the rich soil and his rune started to glow.  Brian didn’t have the chance to call his magic before his vision went black and he felt himself thrown into a tree.  Groaning as though he’d been hit by a football lineman, Brian shook off the dizziness and stood up.

“If that were a vampire, you’d be dust in the wind.”  The Darla calmly spoke. “Love hurts, love is pain.  You’ve been betrayed and lied too.  I can see it in your eyes and pulsing from you, novitiate.”  The Darla waved her hand and ended the spell blocking Brian’s vision. “I told you before, have a few things ready in your mind to do.”   The Darla watched Dusty jump to his feet and start growling at Brian.  “Good boy, Dusty. It’s okay though.  Brian here is sad like I am at times.”  Denise waved her hand and Dusty let out a little whine before laying back down. “Dusty is very protective of me, aren’t you my big boy?”  Dusty barked happily from his little spot.

Rubbing his eyes and temples, Brian gave up trying to walk and sat back down against the tree he’d been thrown into. -What the hell is wrong with you?-  He scolded himself and took a couple deep breaths, “Loved One, sorry about that.”  Looking down at his shaking hands, “I don’t know what came over me.”

Wriggling her wide nose, The Darla let her magic flow once more and conjured a blanket, wrapping it around Brian.  Waving her hand upward she lifted the big man and floated him over to his chair, setting him down gently. “I agree.  I don’t know much about you yet, but the little bit I have witnessed showed me that you are much more controlled than that.”  Denise released the magic wrap and the green faded from Brian’s form. “Though I suppose you have endured quite a bit in the last few days.”  Denise resumed her seat at her workstation, finishing up the second leg she’d been shaping. “Get yourself some water, I have peach tea in the basket if you can figure out how to combine it.”

Brian had just finished drinking from his own purified water ball when he heard trucks with air brakes hissing nearby. “Sounds like we have some company, Loved One.”

Working her thin fingers to finish molding a small foot, Denise turned and nodded. “That would be Captains Mattson, Kino and Jonah.”  Wiping her hands on her smock, Denise hopped up from her artist rock-chair and went to greet the three.  Once she’d given all three a hug, Denise turned and pointed to Brian. “He is doing terrific.  Look at the nice workspace he made for me.”

Raollet stretched and turned his old baseball cap backwards again, “Good to see you again, Brian.”  He pointed to the little studio that was carved from the quarry. “Have you challenged her yet?”  Raollet chuckled.

Captain Kino shuffled up to Brian and outstretched a thin hand. “Angelie Kino.”  She waited for Brian to shake her hand before continuing. “Yeah, I can see the look on your face.  I am disproportionately thin.”  She shrugged. “At least you aren’t staring at the wicked scar on my neck.”

“By accident, Captain Mattson.”  Brian replied and studied the Greek favored woman before him. “I got a little angry and learned a quick lesson.”  He watched the orange hues pop-up and surround the three captains.  He looked into Angelie’s brown eyes. “What look?  I only shook your hand.”  Brian chuckled lightly and pulled his hand free. “I see the scar now.”

Kino smiled. “That was fast, Loved one.  He just inspected us all.”  She turned to face Denise, “A fine pick.  With his size I bet he would make a fantastic commando.”  Captain Kino balled her fist and shook it, “What do you say Brian?  Forget the saucy magic stuff and put that bulk to work with us.  I would love to see you stake a fang-fuck.”

The Darla stood beside her student. “Brian has a focus right now, which is clear to see in the rocks over there.”  She pointed to the visage carved in the table, “Angelie.  I promised to help and teach Brian to be our only geomancer, he wants to help the girl he loves…”

“Casey.  Her name is Casey.”  Brian interjected and saw the shocked look cross all of the captain’s faces at the same time. “Um…”  He quickly looked at Denise. “Sorry for interrupting, Loved One.”

The Darla patted Brian on the arm and resumed her seat over the clay-station. “All is forgiven, Brian.  I understand completely, you are in love.”  She wound her finger in the air near her temple, “Love can make us do rude things from time to time.”  The Darla looked back at Brian, her hazel eyes tinged in green. “How’s your headache?”

-What is that on her forehead?-  A deathly feeling pulsed through Brian and he took a moment to respond. “I-My headache is going away.”  He started to walk back to his seat and stopped. “Wait.”  Brian focused for a moment and rolled three of the bigger rocks that lined the quarry close to where Denise was working and carved them into seats for the three officers.  Pleased with himself, Brian sat down in his chair and started digging in the picnic basket again. “Loved One.”  Brian looked at Denise and saw the crystal still pulsing softly. “There, that should make up for the last few minutes.”

Angelie walked to the rock carved for her, “You even carved our names in them? I like the way you think, Brian.”  She tilted her neck. “You keep looking at this.”

The other two captains shook their heads and sat in their corresponding chairs, where Captain Jonah spoke up in his wispy voice, “You just want to show off, Angelie.”  He waved his pale hand in dismissal. “Just get on with it, so we can hear what the plan is.”

Captain Kino shrugged, “You aren’t so dismissive when you are kissing it.”  She winked and smiled at Brian. “Fine.  Since my companion Charles just exposed me, I will go ahead and just tell you about this.”  She ran her hand over the wicked scar. “I got this from their police leader.”  Angelie looked up in the sky for a second, “I think his name is Issac.  Young as vampires go, but has formed a police force.”

“Issac Vogels.”  Captain Mattson interjected.

“Thanks.”  Captain Kino winked and put her curly black hair in a rubber band. “He got his claws in me and tried to tear my throat out.”  She pointed to Denise. “The Darla taught me how valuable being awakened was.  I don’t have the magic focus that the rest of you seem to have, so I had to improvise.”

Raollet sighed, “Oh, here we go.  Brian, this is going to get quite animated.”

“You hush.  It’s true, you know it is.” Captain Kino snorted.

“Okay, Angelie.”  The old farmer chuckled.

“Okay, Brian.  There I was in the clutches of the fang-fucker and bleeding all over the place.  I could see his red eyes, so I knew that I had a few seconds before his bite took me into bliss and that is game over my friend.”  Pausing to take a breath, Angelie wiggled in her chair excitedly. “Alright, I am bleeding all over, Right?  What I didn’t tell you was I had Chinese food before we did this raid, the place is on Sycamore street, the best beef and broccoli…”

“Angelie, please.  My sweet get on with it.”  Captain Jonah pleaded.

“You two are no fun.”  Captain Kino stuck out her tongue at her lover. “Ignore him, he’s grumpy.  Anyways, I had run out of the restaurant because we were going to be late to raid.  I stuck the chopsticks in my cargo pocket.”  She patted the pocket on her pants leg and then dipped her fingers in to pull out two sets of wooden chopsticks. “The Darla told me to have something in mind all the time.  So I thought of a sharpened and strong chopstick.”  Angelie ran over and handed one set to Brian. “Always be ready right?”  She laughed and kept going with her tale, “I called to Gaia and she sharpened the two and made them more rigid than the trees behind you.  I jammed one in his eye and the other in his chest.”  Captain Kino held the twin wooden objects and pretended to jab a couple times with them. “Bullseye!  He fell like a stone.”  She put the sticks back in her pocket and crossed her arms, “Heather was there and patched me right up.  It was glorious.”

Brian looked at the chopsticks and then to his mentor. “Bamboo?”  He took the thin pieces of wood from the paper sleeve and broke them apart with a little snap and studied them. “Loved One, I …how do we change the strength of something like this?”

The Darla set down the crafted chest piece of her clay doll and summoned thin flames from her fingers, carefully and lightly drying the putty she’d been working with. “I will explain it later, Brian.”  Denise stretched out her runed hand and the letter from Franco Tarsey to the Raven appeared before the crowd. “A meeting, my friends.”  

“A council meeting at that.”  Captain Mattson stood up and pulled his Cubs cap off and scratched his head. “Den…er…Loved One, that means we can catch them all at the same time.”  He snaps his fingers and pokes at the lime green illusionary note. “Do you think The Raven will show up?” Raollet replaced his cap and saw Denise’s hazel eyes come to life and made a connection. “Denise.  The painting?”

A wicked curl formed on The Darla’s eyebrow and her thin lips spread her enchanting smile. “Yes.”  The Darla finished hardening the doll parts. “Now you know.”  She shakes her head, still smiling. “Call the others.  We perform the ritual tonight under the full moonlight.”