Update
I had a lot of fun writing this scene, in the original story and the re-write both. Not really much more to add today; it's been a pretty uneventful day.
Current Word Count: 40,777
Scene of the Day
We looked around
at the “people” dancing and having a good time.
It made us sick.
They were just a
bunch of freaks, but they had the right-!
I ripped my consciousness back, letting a shield quickly
expand around my psyche.
The channeling usually didn’t go that fast, and it was a
testament to how much psychic energy the brutality had unleashed that it’d
dragged me in.
There was a reason I, and most people with brains,
didn’t channel unless there was a really good
reason to do it.
Some people had been known to get entirely lost in it
and never wake up.
Personally, I hated the weird dual personality more than
anything else about the experience.
Making sure I wouldn’t die along with him was a real
concern.
After I’d set the safeguards in place, I delved back
into the victim’s last night.
He doesn’t even
know why the hell he’s here.
This whole damn
city sucks.
And these freaks
are the whole reason why.
A tapping on his
shoulder pulled him out of his vitriol and caused him to turn around, quickly.
The slight swaying
to his vision is a testament to the amounts of alcohol he’s already consumed.
Letting one of the
“freaks” sneak up on him was a pretty bad mistake.
Standing before
him was a tall woman, lookin’ like she was boozed outta’ her skull.
And the way she
was smilin’ made me… him… grin,
forgetting where he was.
Maybe somethin’
good could come outta’ accidentally going here, after all.
“Well, hullo
there, sweet thing.”
She smiled.
To me, it was the
smile of a predator knowing its favorite snack had been lulled.
To him, though, it
was hella’ sexy.
She stepped right
up to him, pressing against him.
He trailed his
gaze from her feet up, liking the prospect more with every second.
Then, he saw her
face, and really saw her, and his
heart just about stopped.
“H-he… Hey,
Cassie,” he stammered.
The smile became
much less pole-dancer and far more shark for him, then, as well.
It was a lot
scarier, and the effect was much worse now that he saw the hints of small,
dagger-like fangs and her slitted pupils.
She pressed harder
against him, and her mouth opened to reveal what was only hinted at before.
In the black light
of the club, her fangs seemed like daggers, just waiting to rip him open.
I dragged myself up from the rising tides of his fear.
“The victim knew the killer. That whole personal thin’?
Seems pretty spot on,” I declared.
I quickly slipped back under, not bothering to hear a
response of any kind, if one was made.
“Cassie, hi… um…”
“If you’re
wondering whether Janet sent me or not, I think the answer’s obvious,” she
laughed.
Her voice was like
grating metal, which sent his heart racing.
A light hand ghosted
across my… his… throat, causing ice
to run through his veins from the monster’s touch.
Then, something
pressed to his flesh, and a strange warmth took hold of both our senses.
Smiling, she
pulled her hand back to reveal an index finger coated red.
“You know, Jason,
Janet really didn’t like being dumped. And what she doesn’t like, I don’t like. And she definitely no longer
likes you, Jason.”
He backed up, eyes
wide in panic and instincts screaming to run.
I felt a pinprick of pain race through my neck, and a
vaguely wet trail sliding down my chest.
“What the hell!?” an unfamiliar voice cried out.
It echoed and bounced around my skull, seeming
undefined, as though the words didn’t fully reach my brain.
I felt a shift in the air around me, letting me know
someone crossed my circle.
“Don’t touch me, Collin. There’s more there,” I warned.
Or I think I warned, at any rate.
My mouth felt too cottony to really tell.
With that, I dove back into the raging river of terror
that was Jason Coldwell.
The sudden stab of shared pain made separation harder to
maintain.
“You won’t escape
me,” Cassie laughed. “And I’ll be more merciful than her. I’ll even make this
quick. If you get away, she’ll do it, instead.”
She pounced,
stabbing another finger into our neck.
We backpedaled,
pain blossoming from the wound.
“Wait”
Her hand launched,
a fist smashing into my… our… his… stomach
with the force of a speeding car.
I felt my feet leave the ground, the psychic force
ramming right into my abdomen.
“Fekin’ hell!
Morgana, I’m-”
“Shoulda’ had more sleep,” I mumbled.
Collin was overpowered as my shield fell entirely, my
psyche beginning to truly fall.
Cassie stabbed at
me again, the stench of blood hitting me hard.
I grit my teeth against the agony radiating through me.
Then, I finally saw what I’d been looking for.
As the mysterious Cassie went to hit Jason again, her
head turned.
I saw a pair of holes in her neck, just over a tattoo of
a black dragon, its fangs bared and staring back at me with glowing, red eyes.
“Now, Collin. Now!”
The separation began to sever, and I felt myself
slipping back into Coldwell.
A hand closed on my arm, and a powerful jolt surged
through me.
With a violent shudder, the connection was cut.
I fell backwards, pain flooding my every synapse as my
body realized how much damage it had actually been put through.
“Fek! Damnit,
Morgana, ya’ shoulda’ gotten out when you started to join,” Collin growled.
He managed to catch me just before I hit the ground,
though, so I doubted he was too angry.
“Irene, the next time, wait ‘til a normal houra’ the
fekin’ day,” I rasped between racking coughs.
Each one made all my other pains flare up, making it all
the more pleasant.
“Did you get anything, or not?” she growled.
Collin swept his foot out, breaking the circle as he lifted
my limp pile of limbs up.
“A splittin’ damned headache an’ a helluva’ trip.”
“Ya’ almost didn’t come back,” Collin added.
He shifted, slightly, and then I had a cool glass
pressed to my mouth.
Thick, warm liquid met my tongue in a burst of spice,
and my heart began hammering when I swallowed.
In seconds, the pain vanished, completely replaced by
the fiery tingling sensation.
That, too, quickly disappeared, and I gave a deep sigh
when my body relaxed.
“Mick’s brews are the best!”
“You’ve mentioned,” Collin laughed. “So, any good come
outta’ becomin’ a psychic carving board, then?”
“Yeah. Yer gonna’ want ta’ leave this one ta’ me,
Marshall.”
“Why would I want to do that?”
“Because the killer was a ghoul.”
“Wonderful. I
always need more vampires to make things a bigger pain in the ass,” she
groaned.
“Oh, that’s not the best part. She was Camarilla.”
Collin tensed and turned to glare at the body like it
had personally insulted him.
“In my club? Damnu,”
he growled.
“What’s a Camarilla, ma’am?” the newbie officer inquired
nervously.
“Did you pick up on anything else, Lugus?” Marshall
demanded.
“A few thin’s. Prob’ly woulda’ been more good if ya’
hadn’t called me up here so damn early I nearly kicked off in there. I told you
back in the day, bein’ tired isn’t good for well-balanced magic.”
“File a complaint later. Information, Lugus!”
“It was personal,” I huffed. “The ghoul’s maker, I’m
guessin’ her Mistress by a conversation she had, sent ‘er after Coldwell when
he dumped ‘er.”
“Fantastic.”
Nodding, I kept my eye on Marshall as I pulled my cell
out.
“So we takin’ somea’ yer load, er what? Cause I’m goin’
back the hell ta’ bed an’ happily stayin’ outta’ this mess if there’s nothin’
else fer me ta’ do here.”
“Dammit! Yeah, alright, fine. You playing with the
infestation’s probably smarter. Just don’t do anything that’ll cause any more
cold bodies to show up than usual. Sanders,” she called to a tall- pale woman
nearby.
“I’ll wait here until the bus shows up,” the officer cut
in.
Nodding, Marshall left, the others trailing behind her.
“Nobody touches the area until the coroner gets the
body!” she called in parting.
In no time flat, the club was emptied out, and Collin
gave a relieved sigh.
“’Bout time they cleared tha’ hell out,” he huffed.
“Glad ta’ know I’m not the only one’s accent’s showin’.”
Usually, he managed to keep the brogue hidden better
than I could, but when it showed, it seemed like it was trying to make up for
lost time.
“Yeah, no shit. That’s what happens when a harpy shows
up and won’t let me go back to sleep,” he agreed with a large yawn.
“Have any more potion?”
“Aye, got a pot on in the back. Glad I had enough on me
already. Ya’ sure you’re okay?”
I tried not to laugh.
“Yep. As always, amazing work,” I congratulated before
sidling up to him.
With a chuckle, he folded me in his arms with a wide
grin.
“I ken think of some ways ta’ wake me up a mite quicker.
Might need yer help fer it, though.”
“Gonna’ need ta’ go with the potion,” I retorted with a
smirk. “It’s gonna’ be a long damn
day, an’ I don’t think we’ll get nearly what we need ta’ done if I help ya’…”
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