Aria felt that presence again. The presence of someone following her. The presence that she's felt for years. She finally made it to the address of the ad in the paper she was holding. "Vicki Nelson Private Investigator. No case too strange. Supernatural is our specialty." She walks into the building and then into the office. When she walks in, she sees a perky goth girl sitting at the desk.
"Do you have an appointment?" She asks.
"Um. Not really. I didn't really think I could uh, explain my situation over the phone." Aria responds.
"Well, you're in luck because we have an opening. Let me tell Vicki and then you can go on in." She says. "What's your name?" She asks.
"Aria." She says. The goth girl nods before disappearing behind the doorway. Aria looks around the office a bit before the goth girl comes to get her.
"Coreen, tells me that you have interesting situation." The woman Aria presumes to be Vicki states.
Coreen. That must be goth girl's name, she thinks. "Uh, yes." She answers.
"Want to tell me what this is about?" Vicki says.
Aria sighs. "I'm being followed. Stalked, if you will. I get pictures, hang up phone calls, the works." She starts off.
"Okay, have you contacted the police about this?" Vicki asks looking up from her notepad.
"I can't go to the police." Aria says.
"And uh, why is that exactly?" Vicki asks taking off her glasses looking at her potential client.
"This is more of supernatural case." Aria says.
"Supernatural how exactly?" Vicki responds
"Supernatural in the fact that I'm a Witchess or as some like to call a Witch." Aria states. "This stalker has been an enemy of mine for over hundreds of years. He is a Warlock, more powerful then I, due to the fact that he's killed thousands of our kind and draining their powers for his gain. He finally has more power then myself and he will use that to kill me. Mrs. Nelson, please I need your help." She says.
"Aria, I want to help you, I do, but I'm sure how you expect me to help you stop a powerful Warlock, if you can't stop him yourself." Vicki says.
Aria sighs. "Maybe not you specifically." She starts off. "But rumor has it that you have a resource that I could certainly use."
"Which is?" Vicki says still not following.
"Me." Henry interrupts walking into the office. Aria looks behind her to the man that she hasn't seen in years.
"Hello, Henry." She says.
"You two know each other?" Vicki asks pointing between the two of them. The way that both of Aria and Henry were staring at one another answered Vicki's question quicker then spoken words could.
"We go way back." Henry says.
"Way back." Aria adds.
"Why am I not surprised?" Vicki mumbles, of course neither of them hears.
"Well, anyway, can we stick to the task at hand? Like me getting the details about this case?" Vicki says.
"Right, go ahead." Henry says sitting in the chair next to Aria.
"I have enough to cover a few weeks of your time, but I would hope it doesn't take that long. I can't hide from him anymore, so the sooner we can figure out how to beat him, the better." Aria says taking out huge envelope from her bag.
"Okay, We'll look into, but I can't promise you anything." Vicki says.
"I know you're probably thinking that I've lived long enough, that why does it matter if I die, but this isn't about my life. It's about what will happen if I die and he gains my power. He will cause great havoc on Earth and many people will die." Aria says standing up before walking out of the office.
Henry follows her and grabs her arm. "Aria." He says. Aria looks up at him. "I've missed you." He whispers.
She smiles placing her hand on his cheek. "And I you." She whispers. "But I need to go." She says.
"Let me go with you." He says. "Walk you home." He says.
"I can't let you do that. If he sees you with me, it won't end well." She says leaning up to kiss his cheek. "I'll see later." She whispers before vanishing before his eyes.
Henry sighs before walking back in Vicki's office.
"So, what's the story with her?" Vicki asks when he walks in.
"We grew up together. Her father was a nobleman and her mother a lady of the queen. Before I met Christina, Aria and her mother left suddenly, rumor was that her mother was of the devil's spirit and took Aria with her, when her mother was set for trial. I never heard from her again until after I was turned. She was walking down the streets of France, when I saw her. That is when she told me what she was and why she had to leave. She knew what I was and we were together, lovers for quite a few years, but I made her leave to save her from Christina. She came into my territory and I was afraid that she would cause harm. I told Aria, I didn't love her anymore, that it was time for me to move on and so should she. That I was only carrying on our relationship because she reminded me of who I used to be." Henry says looking out the window. "I ran into her again in the 1800's, we had an affair for a few nights before she was taken, suspected of witchcraft. She was able to escape and I had never heard from her again, until now." He whispers.
"That's quite a story." Vicki says.
"It's our story." He says. "Which is why we need to save her. I know the Warlock she's talking about. It's her father." Henry says. "He's extremely dangerous and that is why she had to leave court with her mother. He was after their power and their lives. He has already taken her mother's life centuries ago and he will not stop until he has hers."
It was the next night and Henry found a knocking on his door. When he went to answer, he could already sense her. He opens the door letting her in. "I thought you said it wouldn't be good for you to be seen with me?" Henry says.
"If we're inside, we're not really seen are we?" Aria says taking off her coat. "I assume after I left, Vicki interrogated you about our past?" She says walking around his apartment, looking at his sketches.
"She did." Henry says walking over to her, watching her.
"I've seen your work. Your graphic novels." She says. "I've also seen that I make quite bit of an appearance in them as well." She adds.
"I've never forgot about you." He says.
"Well, what about now?" Aria says turning her body towards to him to look at him. "There's something going on with you and Ms. Nelson." She says.
"We're friends. Work partners. That's it." Henry says.
"But you want it to be more." She states.
"There was a time that I did, yes. I drank from her in a time of need, the connection from that stays with me, but I've moved on. It would never work between us anyway." Henry says.
"It never worked between us either, but we still keep coming back to each other." She whispers walking over to Henry.
"It was never us that didn't work. It was circumstances beyond our control that didn't work with us." He whispers.
"You told me you didn't love me." Aria whispers getting closer to Henry.
"I lied." Henry says.
"And how do I know that's not a lie?" She whispers. He doesn't answer, he just takes her face in his hands and kisses her. She responds to the kiss immediately wrapping her arms around his neck. They were frantically making their way towards Henry's bedroom, when they were interrupted by a knock. Henry sighs placing his head on her shoulder.
"It's Vicki." He sighs. Aria nods kissing Henry again quickly.
"You should get the door, while I find my shirt." She smirks. He gets up from the bed and heads to the door, opening it.
"I've been trying to call you." Vicki says walking in.
"I'm fine, Vicki, how are you? What don't you come right in?" Henry says before Aria emerges from the bedroom.
"Oh, so that's why you were ignoring my calls." Vicki says.
"I didn't hear my phone, so I wasn't intentionally ignoring your calls." Henry says.
"Yeah, I highly doubt those vamp ears of yours couldn't hear your phone." Vicki says.
"Are you going to continue talking about the lack of answering your calls, or get to why you came over here in the first place?" Henry says. "I take it would be about the case?" He says.
"It is actually." Vicki says looking over at Aria.
"So, what is it?" Aria says.
"We need to head into the office." Vicki says. "Coreen as all the information there."
"Let me go first. If he's following me, he'll be gone by the time you two head out." Aria says grabbing her coat.
"Be safe." Henry says. Aria gives him a small smile before heading out.
"So, while I'm looking into this case for you, you're sleeping with the client?" Vicki says.
"Nothing happened, thanks to you." Henry says walking over to grab a shirt and his coat.
"Look, this case is nothing like we've experienced before. I might know a little bit about the supernatural world, but this whole witchcraft thing and a powerful warlock, is new territory. I need you focused about the case and not her." Vicki says.
"Me being focused on her is what will save her. My love for her is what will push me to make sure her father is destroyed once and for all." Henry says. "Now, shall we head to the office?" Henry says pointing to the door. Vicki looks at him, shaking her head, then walking out, with Henry following behind her.