Thanks for all the awesome reviews, I loved reading them :). Also thanks to autumngold, sorry I couldn't send a proper reply. And thanks for the favorites and alerts; I hope you will continue to enjoy this.
Black Moon Rising – Paraselene
Danny bends over the table and aims carefully. He blinks, and suddenly remembers one of the last times he has done this. Lindsay, and his thoughts spiral out of control. Ruben, Rikki, … and Lindsay, or not. Just a moment of being overwhelmed and not considering. For just one moment his aim is a fraction off and he watches the chain reaction he has caused. Ruben, Rikki, Lindsay … if Ruben had been a little bit further ahead, if he hadn't sent him home, if …. For a moment Danny wonders randomly if it has a meaning that the ball he has just sent down was black, a meaning deeper than that he has just lost this game.
With a smirk his opponent stretches an expectant hand across the billiard table. Danny chucks a wad of dollar bills into it, grabs his empty bottle and trots off to the bar. He smacks the bottle down together with another couple of bills.
"Gimme another one!" Before the barman can turn to do so Danny's pager goes off. "Scratch that. I've to be off, sorry."
The barman replies with an it-happens-shrug. Danny gathers his money back together and walks out into the moonlit night, oblivious to several glances following him.
-o-
Holding her breath Stella observes the darkness, reaching into it with her eyes and ears. The clicking sound slows down. Then it stops. Ready to pounce? But Stella has figured out which direction it came from and faces that way. Another hesitant click, and another. It doesn't sound like a predator. In the predominant silence Stella becomes aware of the sounds of the river behind her, wave after wave lapping against its banks, producing a background hum.
She spots a movement, like a swath of fog curling in the moonlight. Another step, and the figure becomes clearer. Long, sleek white hair frames a porcelain face. Ashen-blue eyes like moon crater shadows, Stella feels them scanning her. She smiles, signaling that there's no need to be afraid. A white coat floating around a slim body, and the young woman disappears into the darkness again.
Another sound disrupts the calm night, one that Stella has come to dislike. Especially in the last few nights. With a sigh she pulls her pager from her pocket and reads off the direction. It's not far away, she decides to take the subway.
-o-
A hum floats through the silvery atmosphere of reflective material. Sid has performed the Y-incision and now bends over the cold body to examine the inner organs. What is left of them anyway. He frowns a bit. If the cause of death had something to do with the heart it's not exactly going to be easy to find out. If there have been previous wounds the path the stake has torn into that organ most likely covers them.
Sid scoops the contents from the victim's stomach to get a closer estimate of the time of death, and maybe some valuable hints concerning the victim's last meal. He takes a couple of steps away from the body and studies the container in his hand. Finds himself staring at it.
An assistant is about to pass him and stops. "Is that blood?"
Sid gives him half a nod. "Sure looks … and smells like it."
He casts the victim another glance, a touch of uneasiness to his curiosity.
-o-
Flack flips his cell closed and slips it back into his pocket. His eyes and thoughts linger on the body before him. He wishes he could turn away from it, but there's something about this scene. Something that reminds him of watching horror movies as a little kid. This fascination, not wanting to look but not being able to look away either. Apart from the fact that his sister would have laughed at him if he had.
"So, Mac knows. And Danny and Stella will be here soon. Any suggestions what we do until then?" he addresses Angell.
There's no reply.
He looks up and around to see her not standing next to him where she had been a couple of moments before, but several yards away. I hate it when that happens. She seems to be engaged in blocking someone's view of the body. Someone with a camera.
"Guess that answers my question." he mutters, approaching the two.
-o-
Mac's head sinks into his hands. Four bodies, four nights. He turns in his chair and looks outside, up at the moon. Shining down on him so serenely. Ignorant of the havoc it might be causing down here on earth. He wonders if there is a closer connection, not just the full moon letting people's hormones go haywire. A cult maybe, but then it would have had to be three nights; one before, one on, and one after the full moon. And besides, he adds to that thought with a weary smirk, those were werewolves, not vampires.
He switches off the stark light; it's beginning to hurt his eyes. He doesn't need to look at the pictures any longer anyway. He knows every pixel of them by heart. Every heartbeat reverberating in his head. Too soon he'll have the fourth file on his desk. And he knows it won't look any less gruesome in broad daylight. But still he waits for the sun to rise.
-o-
Stella takes the moonlit steps down into the subway station, pondering for a moment why these places don't look more welcoming. Desolate despite the bright lights inside. Unusually quiet. She takes the appropriate turns to get to the line and direction she needs. Her steps resound hollowly in the corridors.
Only those people seem to be around who have no other choice. Of course there's a tight lid on the cases. But such news has a way of leaking. And since when does the press need to be told about something like this? The thought is accompanied by a tired smirk. Vultures are circling, and people go into hiding.
If they can. And also with the exception of those weirdoes who never get anything anyway. Stella sees a small group of people gathered near the tracks, waiting for the next train. They seem to be huddling together, at the same time wishing not to get too close to the others who are also strangers. One man striding back and forth, breaking through them like a wolf through a flock of sheep. Throwing meaningless words at them. They avoid his eyes, try to avoid him.
Stella stops at a little distance and gets his attention. Immediately his stride aims for her; quick, seemingly determined steps. A muck colored coat flaps behind his burly figure. She meets his eyes. An oddly lifeless glow in them, demonic.
Eh, yeah, another small cliffhanger. As far as I can see this story is likely to move from one cliff to the next … but all those who leave a review will get ropes to hold on to ;).
Thank you very much for taking the time to read. I'd love to know what you think of it so please don't hesitate to leave a review. All thoughts and comments are appreciated any time, and replied to where possible.