Disclaimer: I don't own LOK

20060531

This one is a bit of random filler, bridging to a chapter that is not only unfinished, but almost got scrapped for failing the eyebleed test. I've actually got a non-SIAT / non-scribble project going.

When we reached the outskirts of the town, the people regarded the vampires with stares of mistrust.

"There's an abandoned cottage," I said, pointing to a building in the distance. "Wait for me there, I'll be okay."

The people of the town regarded me with suspicion as well. I was a stranger that arrived in the company of vampires, after all. After little more than an hour, I was trudging up the shore to the cottage. I now had a plan and a small basket of cooked crabs.

I sighed as I pulled Vorador's phone out of my pocket. Janos was right, we should not have left him behind. I wish I had at least thought of the cell phones in time. Out of curiosity, I began going through the phone's features. It was already programmed with our numbers. I was mildly surprised to find other numbers programmed into the phone as well, the Mystic Bordello among them.

"I'm looking for Vorador," I said to the lady that answered the phone.

"He is indisposed," the lady purred.

I shuddered as I pushed thoughts of Vorador's endurance out of my mind. "Please give him a message. We have found a way back to Nosgoth and we're waiting for him in Drifton."

After I gave her the complicated coordinates that were Drifton's address, the lady said brightly, "There is a bus that leaves for there this evening. We shall try to put him on it."

As I shoved Vorador's phone back into my pocket, I tried to shake off the strangeness that accompanied any interaction with the Mystic Bordello. I suppose that it was to be expected from a place that was partly magical.

Raziel flopped in the sand. His chest was heaving with exhaustion.

Janos landed lightly next to him, holding a wind-tattered pennant in one talon. "Giving up so soon?"

"Just wait," Raziel panted. "I'll take it from you yet."

Kain was sitting on the porch, watching the contest with only mild interest. I sat down heavily beside him.

"What have you discovered?" Kain asked.

"There's a ship that will take us to Freeport whenever we're ready to leave," I said. "We should wait for Vorador. He'll catch up with us tonight if he really cares about getting back."

Kain nodded in assent. "I would like a fresh meal before we leave."

"That's going to be a problem," I moaned in a tone that said that I couldn't stop him, but I wouldn't like dealing with the consequences. "I already had enough trouble convincing the sailors that they'd be allowed to return alive."

"Surely there is someone who wouldn't be missed," Kain pointed out.

"It's a tight-knit community," I insisted. "There really aren't any criminals or bums."

Kain made a disgruntled sound at the back of his throat. I could tell that he was trying, but his nature could not be truly suppressed.

I pulled a crab out of the basket and smashed it open with a rock. "I can't believe I'm eating a member of the arachnid family."

"Is there anything that you won't eat?" Kain sneered. "Your own eating habits are less than refined."

I delicately picked a piece of meat out of the shell. "There's lots of things. Worm cheese, for one."

"You've eaten worms," Kain reminded me.

"I was desperate," I shrugged, "and worm cheese is maggots."

As the sun sunk towards the horizon, the sky blazed bright gold and the clouds streaked a fiery red. The town was bathed in orange light as we four marched back towards it.

Raziel glumly eyed the ragged pennant now looped around Janos' belt. Though the angelic vampire recognized that Raziel was an amateur both at flying and the sport itself, a smug smile graced his lips.

A coach drawn by an elephantine elk-like creature pulled into town just as we arrived. Vorador stumbled down from it, pale-faced and shaken. "It travels between worlds," he hauntedly explained, "and it changes its shape."

We didn't ask him for further explanation; we could see how traumatic it must have been.

Kain strode into the town square, the gathered people parting to let him pass. "We require fresh blood. Give it to us or we shall take it."

"There is no need for violence," one of the men said as he humbly approached Kain. I guessed by his clothing that he was some sort of official. "Please, if you will have a seat, we will accommodate."

The vampires sat at one of the tables outside of the tavern. I hung back, hid my face with my hands, and tried to pretend that I wasn't with them. Large jugs were brought out, and the people of the town lined up. Each one cut themselves and bled into the jugs, giving what they could easily spare. With the whole town contributing, there was enough to sate their appetites.

I did not participate in the contribution. I knew that it would do no good. I could already feel the color draining from my face just by seeing it. I found a bench and lay down, waiting for my queasiness to pass.

I reflected on how Raziel could sustain himself on anything now, but he was feeding on blood. Considering the local cuisine, and the fact that fresh blood was being made available, there was little reason to deny him old habits.