Private Tales To make unclean

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria ignored Harlowe's muttered prayers (though noted the irony of a pious undead) and sashayed through the warm tavern. Her skin took on the golden hue of the firelight while her hair seemed to burn more brightly through the air. She felt eyes on her. Expected, she was exceptionally beautiful.

She cornered the barmaid against the far wall, stepping close and greeting her with an airy "Hello, darling." She posted her arm on the wall beside the girl, barring her escape. "I hope you can help me. I'm looking for a friend. A man, sturdy build, might be wearing robes?"

"U-uh, plenty of sturdy men here," the young one answered nervously in a thick, rural accent. "But not in robes as ye say..."

Victoria did not break eye contact. "That's alright, pet. I think I've found all the company I need..."

 

[Harlowe]

There was no sign of religious monks - no robes, no books of prayer - but there was a locked chest stood to the side on grand iron legs. It looked the sort of travelling case someone rich might have. Certainly not someone who would stay in a place like this. Quietly she shut the door behind her after checking the corridor to make sure nobody was watching her then she made her way to crouch before the lock.

Felice had taught her how to pick them and she'd found it rather easy with her heightened hearing. It wasn't long therefore before the lock clattered to the floor and she was able to take a peek inside.

"Well, well, well," she murmured and ran her fingers slowly over the wooden stake inside. From the way it burned her fingers and made her pull back it had to be doused in something spiritual and strong. Maybe there was a bigger threat in town than just the monk.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

By the time Harlowe had opened the chest Victoria had managed to lure the barmaid upstairs. Normally she enjoyed playing with her food, but they were in a hurry, so a little bit of hypnosis helped to speed along the process.

The normal intake of breath and startled whimper accompanied Victoria’s fangs sinking into her neck, but the girl was quiet and still as she was fed upon. The veins in Victoria’s neck bulged and her hands clamped hungrily around her victim’s sides until finally she released.

Flooded with new vigor, Victoria cracked her neck and pulled the barmaid further down the hall. Harlowe had to be somewhere up here, and the dazed barmaid had plenty of blood to spare for seconds.

”There you are,” she said upon finding the other vampire. ”Would you like some? It’s not virginal but it has a lovely spice to — what have you got there?” She dropped the girl’s hand and took a step into the room.

 

[Harlowe]

Harlowe stood and spun in one fluid, graceful movement, her foot flicking back and artfully shutting the lid of the chest too. She should have known it was Victoria by the fact she hadn't heard her heartbeat when she approached, and the barmaids was far weaker from where the vampire had recently fed from her. The silver-haired vampire frowned in disapproval before turning her attention entirely back to the red-haired woman before her.

"It looks like there's a hunter in town," she said, folding her arms over her chest. "I didn't catch this scent downstairs but clearly they're staying here," her lips pursed and she turned back towards the trunk to lift it so Victoria could see. "Perhaps they are meeting our monk, though."

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria swore and wiped the blood from her lips. She held the barmaid's chin between her fingers and commanded "Go into the first empty room you find and sleep. Forget everything that has happened since you met me." Her voice was thick and carried unnaturally well into the girl's ears, and the young woman turned and sluggishly made her way into an adjacent room.

A vampire hunter would recognize a freshly hypnotized and bled victim. Best to keep the girl out of sight until she had time to recover.

Victoria crossed to Harlowe with mild apprehension and wrinkled her nose at the stake. She cursed again, crouching down to examine it. She drew back when it burned her as it had Harlowe, and she felt the all-too familiar churning in her gut that she'd felt in the cathedral. Few things could kill her, but here was one of them right in front of her.

"We should burn this, all of this... but you might be right. Maybe they will lead us to the monk if we watch from the shadows." She paused. "Or... the monk could flee from under our noses while we watch this hunter."

 

[Harlowe]

"It seems a big coincidence that both should pick this town, at this hour," Harlowe murmured and then carefully shut the lid of the box. "Maybe the Monks had even hired this ... hunter before we attacked the citadel," that would explain why the monk had fled here. He probably knew the hunter would be travelling through this city and hoped to find him for protection. There were just too many theories and not enough evidence. If they acted based on what they thought they might end up walking into a trap of sorts.

"I think we should continue trying to find the monk. That will tell us if these two know each other, perhaps even tell us if there is a far bigger scheme at foot here," she was careful to relock the box and put it back exactly where she had found it.

"Did the maid have any useful information?"

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria picked at her nails in agitation. The monks of the cathedral had been a big enough problem without bringing trained hunters into her territory. The former was a creeping rot, the latter an immediate danger. Moreover, this hunter was very well equipped. A blessed stake would have been very expensive to make, even more to purchase. She felt a prickle on the back of her neck as she considered how odd it was that such a hunter would have left their supplies unguarded.

"Maybe but... why would such a well equipped clergy hire a hunter? These people oust vampires via public unrest and revolt... were they trying to assassinate me outright?" It was possible, but it seemed too great a coincidence that she had happened to attack them before their hired knife arrived.

She nodded, agreeing with Harlowe's plan and smirked as unapologetically as possible at the dig.

"No one wearing church garb has been here, so our man is elsewhere or in disguise. Plenty of unfamiliar faces around, but that's not unusual out here. She was also delicious," she theatrically drew out the last word. "You should consider it, you look a bit peaked."

 

[Harlowe]

"Maybe that's because there's someone in this town who could very easily kill us," Harlowe replied drily, a tone only exemplified by her accent. She shook her silver head and then started for the door. The more time stood here was more time for the Slayer to return and she did not think this weapon was the only one such a man possessed. If he was smart he wouldn't have left here without at least another one.

Leaving the inn was a relief to the senses and she took in an unnecessarily deep breath to clear her nose and throat of the linger fermentation. The next inn couldn't be much further along judging by the size of the town she had seen from up on the hill. But as she set off down the street she was more cautious and methodical about peering into dark windows and alleyways.

Sure enough, after a leisurely ten minute walk another inn soon came into view; the Hopping Hare.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria decided to leave this particular battle alone. It wasn't clear to her why Harlowe feasting *properly* was such a concern, but it didn't seem right that someone so strong and so interesting should be denying their very nature. She remembered having some qualms about it herself as a young vampire, but those memories were old and faded. The euphoria of a fresh feeding quickly removed those doubts in her, she hoped it would be the same for her new friend.

Luckily for the pair of them they did not encounter the hunter on their way out of the inn, nor en route to the Hopping Hare. Or perhaps it was very unlucky of them, if they were being tracked and observed without their knowledge. In either case, Victoria could not detect any blessed or holy scents and did not see anyone suspicious in the night.

Too bad. The fresh blood in her veins had invigorated Victoria and left her itching for a fight. Nevertheless she held her tongue as they walked.

Peering through a window, Victoria could see that the Hopping Hare was nicer than the previous inn. The clientele was quieter and better dressed and the scents from within were tolerable. Furthermore, this place had an actual stable around the back, not just a few hitching posts out front.

 

[Harlowe]

Harlowe took an unnecessary breath.

Going in through the front had not landed them in trouble in the last inn but caution called to her with the knowledge there was a Hunter out strolling these same streets. With their red eyes they would be easy enough to spot for anyone who knew anything about Vampires whilst they did not even know yet whether this Hunter they sought was male or female. It put them at an comfortable disadvantage.

"I think we should go round the back," she murmured, casting another look up and down the street. "Maybe talk to the stablehands, they'll know everyone coming and going."

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

"Good thinking," praise was not altogether common from the red vampire, although Harlowe had received a good deal of it. Victoria felt a strange fondness for this woman despite the aloof and taciturn nature.

The pair of them crept around the back of the inn and found a pair of young men tending to a scattered assortment of horses. One of them was bringing a pail of water back from the inn, and he stopped in his tracks upon seeing the vampires. His expression of fright wasn't from seeing monsters, however, it was from seeing two very attractive women walking towards him.

"U-uh... are you- can... how-how can I do for you, ladies?" he stammered through a rapidly reddening face.

 

[Harlowe]

Harlowe had never been one for subtleties, nor on picking up when another person found her attractive. She had been a soldier for most of her life and all of her undead one. Her thoughts went first and foremost to the mission she was on and how best to get it done. When the same to a stop in front of the stable hands and she swept her silver mane out of her face it was to plant her hands then on her fists and demand rather than sweet talk.

"We're looking for an acquaintance of ours and wondered if he had passed through here. A short fellow, might have been dressed in robes of a sort. Probably a little jumpy."

Along with her accent and the way her eyes cut from one young boy to the other it was clear she meant to get that information whatever method of stringing them up it required. One audibly gulped.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

The poor boys had no idea what they were facing down. Harlowe's brash opening prompted one to glance at Victoria, but she returned a look that said I won't save you. The lads had about one minute to think carefully before the vampires took the information by force.

The one further back, who wasn't frozen in fear of Harlowe, decided that he wasn't being paid enough to keep the guests' secrets.

"Bloke came through. Didn't stay, though. Wanted his horse watered and left. Told him not to. Told him the mare needed rest."

 

[Harlowe]

"Did he say where he was heading?"

The man nearest to her flinched as her red eyes fell solely on him. His adams apple began to bob up and down and sweat broke out along his spotted forehead. His lips parted like a fish's and Harlowe wondered, briefly, if she was being a bit too zealous if fear froze the words in their throat like that.

The same lad saved his friend though.

"No, miss, but he said he was looking for a friend and described him. Said you'd know him if you saw him, he has a great cross tattooed on the side of his neck," he mimed where the monk had no doubt gestured to.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria hissed an ancient curse under her breath. It was a dead language, but the vampire she'd learnt it from had said it translated roughly to "fuck's sake."

A tattoo wouldn't cause her much trouble unless it had been done extremely carefully, and it couldn't be blessed as easily as an object... but vampire hunters tended to pay attention to those details.

"Sounds like the sort of man who'd have a stake by his bed," she intoned to Harlowe.

If the church had hunters, or even contact with them, the situation was worse than she'd feared. She could only hope they knew of vampires in the area, and had not traced their source back to the land's seat of power.

"And had you seen that man? Were you able to direct our dear acquaintance?"

 

[Harlowe]

"No miss, en't seen anyone like that miss, I would certainly remember," the stable boy's adams apple bobbed with his nerves. Harlowe's eyes narrowed as she tried to determine whether the fear was because he didn't want to be caught in a lie, or just because it had finally occurred to him the two women before him were dangerous. Not all humans knew exactly why they feared someone who otherwise looked quite normal, but there was a deep rooted sense in humans that told them to run. Like a deer's natural instinct was to run at the smell of the wolf.

"If you do, you can find us at the Cherry Tree inn. Tell the innkeeper there to leave a message for Veronike," it was the name the demon huntress had used when they had stopped at the town on their way to Victoria. Harlowe herself hadn't come to town but had seen it from afar.

"Let's try the next inn," she suggested to her companion.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria let her gaze linger on the boys long enough for them to sweat just a little bit more before turning around. "As you wish." The silence at her back as they returned to the street let her know that the stable hands had remained stock-still until the pair of them were safely out of sight... and for some time afterwards.

"Why have they done this?" she asked half rhetorically to Harlowe. "Why would they come here? I haven't wronged my people, I haven't rounded them up into neat little paddocks like the Barons of the west." She sighed theatrically. "Despite what it may appear, my little domain is not a threat to anyone. So why the hell are they bringing hunters and cathedrals?!"

Anger flared abruptly, using the previous exasperation as kindling. Harlowe, perhaps unfortunately, was a captive audience for the Lady's catharsis.

 

[Harlowe]

"But do you actually do anything for them?" Harlowe asked bluntly, a fact only made worse by her accident. It wasn't that she didn't believe Victoria in that she did not round up her humans and use them as cattle, but Harlowe had been human not that long ago. She could remember discontent. She could remember how easy it was to think one change would mean a change for family and friends too.

"My father used to say, when the people at the bottom are covered in shit the only place to look is up," at those, presumably, who were doing the shitting. The young vampire rolled her shoulders. "Perhaps you read too much into it. It might not be that you are a vampire that is the issue at all. Perhaps they just want a change in who is shitting on them."

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria frowned at the blunt words. She had wanted to become more familiar with Harlowe, but the woman was still under her employ. While she attempted to keep her rage below a simmer she reminded herself that frank speech was valuable… and that she could not afford to lose her only ally within a day’s run.

”I maintain order as best I can.” She answered flatly. ”I negotiate trade alliances, making sure we have what we need. It is in my interest to keep them placated… clearly.” She gesticulated all around them to highlight the present situation.

She didn't feel like defending herself. She'd have to do that physically sooner or later, if they ever found this hunter. "You will notice," she mentioned as a final note, "That I did not raze that village to the ground after destroying the cathedral. I can be merciful."

The next inn glowed from distant windows. Upon nearing it Victoria saw a pair of figures in the darkness, nestled in between the dark buildings nearby. They saw the women and quickly ducked away into an alley. "Them," she said, breaking into a run to catch up.

 

[Harlowe]

Harlowe only had time to quirk an eyebrow at Victoria's defence of herself before she bolted after the two suspicious figures. The younger vampire glanced at the inn a second time before taking off after the older vampire. It wasn't hard for two of the undead to keep up with two of the living and soon they tracked the pair to the end of an alleyway, though perhaps not in the act either vampire had suspected. The pair sprang apart with a cry from one another at the sudden appearance of the two vampires, and whilst the woman visibly trembled at the sight of glowing red eyes the man, with his trousers around his ankles, at least attempted some bravado.

"'ere, I paid for this fair and square! Didn't I!?" he glanced back to his co-conspirator who nodded vigorously.

Harlowe couldn't help but laugh, covering her mouth to muffle it.