Attention
I'd
only been in town for a day and found that it was more than enough
time to find the address I was looking for. So I went sightseeing.
I
made sure the man I was looking for'd notice me. I needed help and
there were a few ways a girl who never attracted attention could get
his eye.
I bought clothes I'd never wear again, even if he begged
me.
A short black skirt and matching tight tank top.
Hell, I'd
burn these after I got his attention.
But my alternative to this
would have been to flash him.
I took the latter. Clothes wouldn't
wound my pride if he started laughing. Or if he jumped on me.
I
shuddered and pulled my jacket closer.
But, I did need his help,
no matter the cost.
And I heard his help didn't come cheap and I
only had enough money to by a fairly nice dinner. About $50. I hoped
it was enough.
I'd also been told that if he was at his office
that he was usually sleeping and to beware the mess.
I knew a lot
about him, the locals were surprised, and the others I'd heard
about.
At first, I'd gone to the Order of the Sword for help (They
were the closest to home). The rather snooty assistant told me that
they'd look into it.
That was two weeks ago.
I decided that if
I was going to get help, I needed to be active about it.
It
was easy to find the building I was looking for. On the bright neon
sign, the 'D' kept flickering.
I sighed and walked for the door,
"Here goes nothing."
I pushed the door open slowly,
"Hello…?"
It was quiet and semi-dark. I could see the piles
of trash in the room and I recoiled. Disgusting.
Ever heard of a
maid?
I swallowed the thought and walked in slowly,
"Hello?"
"We're closed. See the sign?" A voice grumbled
from behind the desk.
There wasn't a sign on the door. Sure,
there was a 'closed' sign, but it was turned to 'open'.
"Get
out," The voice rumbled again.
He was drunk. He sounded drunk.
And this
was
the man I'd come to beg for help. This drunk, perverted,
never-cleans-his-shop, sorry son of a—
"What do you want?"
He grumbled, "Since you obviously aren't leavin'."
I
blushed and closed the door.
'Focus,' I told myself, 'You
need his help.'
"I-I came looking for the Devil Hunter."
God, why did I sound terrified? Why now? I'd practiced this
before.
I heard his feet slid from his desk and thud on the
floor.
"Who are you?"
"S-Shayde," I managed after a few
moments, "Shayde Benington."
"Benington?" He grumbled. I
saw his shape sit up, watching me. I could feel those icey-blue eyes
running over my skin.
I shuddered.
"I know that name," he
continued, "Your old man."
"M-Melbourne? Y-yeah. That's
him," I gave a small sigh of relief.
I'd also been reminded
that this man forgot names easily.
"So, he wants a
favor?"
"N-No. I need your help because something happened to
him."
"He needs me to bail him out of something?"
"Yes…
and no," I played with the hem of my skirt nervously, "About a
month ago, they were all killed. My parents and my brother."
He
was silent for a moment and I was afraid he had fallen asleep sitting
up.
"Have a seat. Tell me what happened, kid. By the way, name's
Dante."
I smiled and moved to the chair in front of his desk as
he began to throw old pizza boxes and crumpled beer cans to the
floor. Every now and then, I saw his red sleeves, the flash of his
white hair. Then he got up and pulled open the blinds. I gasped
softly when I saw him.
He was taller than I thought. He wore a red
leather jacket and red chaps over his black jeans. Or what I thought
were jeans. I didn't want to stare there.
My eyes made their way to his chest, he was wearing a black zipped up
shirt, part of his collarbone exposed through the open zipper. His
hair was a snowy white and his eyes were such a pretty blue.
Although, he looked as though he hadn't shaved in a few days.
I
felt unbelievably small as he walked back to his desk and sat back
down. I played with my hair, which I'd put in a ponytail and
recently died black.
"So, kid—"
"Shayde."
"Shayde.
Tell me what happened to your family," He said as he sat back down,
throwing his feet up on the table.
