Prompt #29 – "vampire" (Romance/Supernatural)
The man in black sounded very charming, and he certainly knew his way around a bar. He'd been plying her with drinks for well over an hour, which was downright cute of him to try.
He looked deep into her eyes and whispered, "The night is young. The two of us ought to go somewhere a bit more private."
She returned the stare evenly. "Lead on, big guy."
He paid for their drinks and led her from the smoky tavern. Despite the fact that she only stood as high as his waist, he remained polite and graceful.
They strolled down the dark street, cutting through an empty lot towards the apartment buildings beyond. Halfway across, another man stood up from leaning against a building. He staggered closer to them, licking his lips. "Hey, there."
Unsurprised, the earlier man turned to her. "Miss Firehelm, you won't mind if my friend joins us, will you?"
Should she continue with her breathy, fluttery pretense? Two might be interesting. But then she caught a whiff of the second man's jacket, which smelled like a slaughterhouse floor – and had the same filthy stains. "Actually, I would mind."
The second man's eyes flashed at her – there was no other word for it, particularly due to the red shine in them – and he intoned, "You will accept my presence."
The first man smiled at her, showing perfect white teeth that, yes, glinted a little more than before. "Just relax, and everything will be fine."
"No," she responded, fishing into her handbag. "Everything was fine before you decided to bring this guy in. Too bad I passed my Will save versus douchebag." She withdrew a pendant and slipped it on.
Both men recoiled. "Cleric!" hissed the second man venomously. But he tried to stare her down anyway, his eyes now openly glowing red.
"You better believe it, buster." She reached into her bag again, muttering low words before she withdrew a metal object. With a flick of her wrist, she extended a baton that began to glow. "You've got one round to get lost before I get rid of you."
He only renewed his gaze into her, snarling and scowling.
She smiled and shrugged. "Sucks to be you." She swung the shining baton, cracking it into the man's kneecap.
He cried out, sagged as though to fall to his knees, and then yelled in agony as fiery light surged from the wound, ripping through every limb and tearing him apart. In a second, the man was gone, shredded to a smoldering heap of dust.
The first man gaped back at her. "Hilgya, what did you do?"
"A girl's got to look out for herself. Nothing breaks up an awkward meeting like a Disrupting Weapon."
"You... oh, no..."
"Listen, buddy – you're not so bad. Care to try this again, but without the head games?"
He gaped at her, staggered back, then turned so quickly that he nearly stumbled. His fleeing footsteps echoed rapidly from the dark brickwork on every side.
Hilgya sighed and put her baton and holy symbol away. If I had a gold piece for every time I had to choose between stuck-up idiots and being alone... Then she walked onward, her blond braids swaying again with her easy stride.
There were plenty of other men in plenty of other bars who would greet a dwarf and share another drink.
