Recent content by Mephistopheles

Mephisto's face didn't shift as Bryony answered him. It sounded like she was declining to have him stay, which would have been unfortunate if she had any actual say in the matter. "No, your home is not equipped, but that can be quickly amended, and I am not a typical visitor." He agreed with...

Mephistopheles' face dropped just a hair. He didn't like unknowns and variables. "Is there no one who could be contacted to ensure he stops by soon?" Unlikely. If there were, he could have spoken to them instead of this girl. He huffed a short, annoyed sigh. "No, if he knows I am here he will...

Mephistopheles felt an invisible barrier drop from in front of him as he was invited inside. It was always so easy, he mused to himself. Until this moment, Bryony had had immeasurably powerful protection from him. He could not have set foot inside her shop, nor any part of this structure without...

The person who opened the door was not what Mephistopheles had been expecting. A shop like this conjured the image of someone equally dirty, disheveled, and mundane. The girl was impoverished, there was no doubt about that, but she was presentable and, he had to recognize, quite beautiful. Her...

Dusk seemed to fall earlier in the city. Tightly packed homes and shops blocked the sun on its evening descent, casting long shadows across narrow streets and alleyways. Sconces were lit by mid-afternoon and flickered beneath the perpetual haze of dusty roads and burning hearths. The shade did...

"Stay alert," he answered Saoirse, and moved through to the grand hall after the other guests. He could not help but take quick note of all the windows, the nooks and hiding spots in the ceiling, the small hidden doorways for the servants... all of them security points and none of them his...

With the evening's prelude in full swing, the castle was the liveliest it had been in decades. Servers wove in between guests with quiet dignity to offer appetizing morsels. Some offerings were more macabre than others, but the waiters seemed to know whom to offer which items. For example, no...

Bats were faster than most people knew, and the sky was still inky black when the lights of Trandenshire estate crested the horizon. It was a fine manor, wrapped in lush gardens and a single tiny attempt at a vineyard at one end. Mephistopheles thought it made a great effort to appear wealthy...

He shrugged. "Some prefer not to. Some do it poorly." The gifts of shapeshifting were not equally distributed, and even amongst the gifted there were the skilled and unskilled. Mephistopheles frequently preferred his animal shapes to his own, and he had spent a substantial portion of his un-life...

Mephistopheles was a patient man, but even he could feel a nagging pull to get moving. That the Baron had replied so quickly and scheduled such a rapid visit meant that things had been set in motion far earlier than anticipated. Trandenshire was a pawn, obviously, but in what game Mephistopheles...

Mephistopheles remained in his study for a time after Saoirse had left. The Baron was a tricky foe. Not his motives, those were painfully obvious, but his strength. Rogerre outranked Victoria in both the old world order and the new (which was more or less just money). He commanded more forces...

Mephistopheles raised his eyebrows. "Can you blame me? Knowing what you know?" He gestured that she could stand, if she chose. She had not lied, not that he could detect. "My Lady's personal affairs are... by definition my business but not my place to question. Regardless, you can see how this...

Mephistopheles looked down at her. His pupils had dilated in focus. He paid attention to the minute movements of Saoirse's face, her hands, all the way to her feet. He watched her pupils, listened to her breathing and heartbeat (if either were present). This was not an infallible technique, but...

Mephistopheles gave his head a small tilt as he considered Saoirse's question. "It could be, but..." he scanned the letter again. "...I don't think it is. The Baron wants something to happen quickly and our Mistress is at the center of it." His brow took on a crease of concern. Greyrock tended...

“Well, it has been… surprisingly fine meeting you Saoirse. I should have known our Mistress would not send me someone useless.” It was about as high praise one could expect form Mephistopheles. The black cat had moved silently to Saoirse’s feet and, as if to punctuate Meph’s statement, rubbed...