Chapter 11
1788 Words
11
After the bust at Harry’s Shining Shack, Sam and Lilith slinked down to The Drunken Turnip for a bite to eat and drink their defeat away
“The usual,” Lilith said as she sat down on the wooden barstool. “And a beer for the human.”
“A Wisp Hopper,” Sam elaborated.
The young bartender nodded and placed two coasters down before scurrying away to pour a glass of wine and tap Sam’s beer into a tall glass.
“Is that all?” he asked, placing the two drinks down.
“Yes,” Sam replied, reaching for her wallet but Lilith caught her wrist.
“No need. It’s on the house.”
Sam hesitated. She couldn’t remember the last time she hadn’t paid for drinks or food. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I told you, I— we own the place.” She gestured around. “The Drunken Turnip has been a family business for centuries.”
“Hmmm.” Reluctantly, Sam pocketed her wallet and took a sip from her beer. “The Drunken Turnip… Funny name for a bar. How did that come to be?”
“There’s an old tale, about the Jack O' Lantern. You might know it?”
“Vaguely… Isn’t that something about a pumpkin?”
Lilith audibly ground her teeth. “It’s not a pumpkin, don’t ever say it’s a pumpkin again. That’s just a stupid, modern interpretation and not at all how it went.”
Out of reflex, Sam shielded herself against the sudden verbal assault. “Eek, sorry.”
“No, I’m sorry. It’s just a touchy subject.” Lilith took a big glug of wine and rested her head in her hands. “Let me just tell you the story, alright?”
“Alright, I’m listening.”
“A long time ago, when the Devil still roamed the earth, he fell in love with a woman. A human woman. There were many people he played with, but this one stole his heart. They got together and eventually, she birthed a child. A boy. She named him Jack.”
“Right.” Sam swigged from her beer, enraptured by the story. There was something soothing about Lilith’s voice, something sweet and soft, like a lullaby.
“The Devil had many children, but Jack was his favourite. On Jack’s sixteenth birthday, the Devil appeared to him and asked what he wanted as a gift. Jack was a bit of a frolicker and he liked to drink. He asked his father for a coin that would always return to his pocket and his father provided. The two parted ways and they didn’t see each other until Jack’s seventeenth birthday.”
“What a great father,” Sam remarked sarcastically, earning a glare from Lilith. “Sorry, continue.”
“The next time they saw each other, The Devil asked him again what he wanted. This time, he asked his father for a companion that would never abandon him. The Devil gave him a hellhound and the two parted ways again.”
“A hellhound? Like mine?”
Lilith shot her a glare and ignored her question, continuing with her story. “Jack’s eighteenth birthday was not a joyous event. His mother had died the day before and though she lived a virtuous life, she had a child with the Devil. Her soul belonged to him. Jack asked his father for a way to visit her without having to die.”
“So what happened?”
“The Devil gave Jack a key to the underworld, disguised as a lump of burning coal. As long as he had that, he’d always be able to visit his mother and return to the human world. Jack hid the smouldering lump in a turnip where it burned forever and when he died, he passed the coal on to his daughter so she could always come to visit him. And when it was her time, she did the same.”
“But what does that have to do with The Drunken Turnip?” Sam asked.
“He was my ancestor. In his honour, we drink, we feast, and we celebrate his life. This bar is a tribute to him. He was one of the first Nocturnals.” Lilith emptied her glass and gestured to the bartender. “Another.”
The young man nodded and refilled her glass with the bubbly rosé wine.
Once he was gone, Sam turned her attention back to the other woman. “One of the first?”
Lilith shot her a knowing smile. “I told you, Jack was the Devil’s favourite son, but not his only.”
“Ah.” Sam nodded. “I see.”
“Yes. We have very strict rules that everyone needs to abide by. It’s the only way we can all coexist in peace.”
“I wouldn’t call that peace. More like… A truce.”
“Whatever you want to call it, I can’t cause a war. Which is where you come in.”
“Right… Like a loophole?”
“No, Wardens are perfectly legal and protected under the Law of Six.” She heaved her glass. “I get to find my uncle and you get to save your hellhound. It’s quite a fortunate trade-off.”
“Yeah,” Sam muttered sarcastically. “Quite.”
With a little smile, Lilith shrugged. “Many humans would find it an honour to be part of our world.”
“Hmmm… People that like being looked down upon, perhaps.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well, clearly, you think you’re some kind of superior race to us.”
“Well… We are superior.”
“See, just like I said. What makes you so special anyway?”
“We have powers you wouldn’t be able to dream of.”
“Like what?”
Lilith bit her lip. “Oh, I couldn’t possibly tell you. It’s something you have to experience, but that’s—”
“Right, right. An honour.”
There were many things Sam would call this experience, but honour wasn’t one of them. Dangerous, scary, annoying, those all came to mind when she thought about the Nox and what they wanted. Maybe some people would be excited to enter a world of magic, but she liked her own boring world just fine. She was going to help Lilith with the retrieval of her uncle, adopt the dog, and then pretend like she knew nothing of this Nox nonsense. The sooner she solved the case, the quicker she could return to her normal life.
“What do we do now?” Sam asked, playing with the cardboard coaster from under her beer. There was a turnip image on it, which she assumed was the logo of the bar.
The other woman sighed. “I don’t know. I thought… If I could find Tomas, it would lead me to my Uncle.”
“Because they’re hiding with the vampires?” Sam tapped her chin. “Maybe we’ve been making the wrong assumptions. Let’s go over what we know. Tomas’ shoes were with Harry.”
Lilith nodded. “Harry has ties with vampires. There’s no other reason for him to be stocking blood.”
“Harry fled the scene and lied to us about Tomas. He must be protecting him then.”
“I wonder… Maybe we should search the Shining Shack, see if we can find any evidence of which vampire branch he’s associated with. Then we go from there.”
“Branch?” Sam echoed.
“There’s one vampire clan in the city, but there are multiple, individual branches. Tribes, if you will.”
“Oh. Does your clan have multiple branches too?”
Lilith chuckled bemusedly, her blue eyes flickering. “No, we’re all one family.”
“Hmm… Alright.”
There was so much to learn about the Nox world and despite Sam’s rising curiosity, she decided not to ask any more questions. The less she knew, the better it would be for her. She just had to treat this case like any regular case.
She turned back to Lilith, ignoring just how bright her eyes were. “You’ve said before that your clan doesn’t get along with the vampires, right?”
“Correct.”
“Then why would they hide or protect your Uncle?”
Lilith shrugged. “Money. They like money.”
“But you said he didn’t have any. That’s why he ran?”
“Hmm…”
“Wouldn’t it be more likely that he ran and they took him as a prisoner? Or maybe even killed him?”
“No.” A determination stretched across Lilith’s face. “They wouldn’t kill him, he’s too valuable. And if he was their prisoner, they’d have already proposed a trade.”
“Why haven’t they already?”
“Good question…” She took another sip from her wine, her forehead wrinkled with thought. “He’s important, but he’s not that important. With that logic, that rules out the B, D, and M clans. They’d have used him as leverage without a doubt.”
“How did you come to that conclusion? And what’s with the alphabet”
“The vampires put great weight in names. You can tell who belongs to what branch from their name. We might have something of them that they’d want back, but if they haven’t asked...”
“Ah.” Sam nodded. The other woman had to be talking about prisoners or items of equal value that they could demand in exchange for Ian. So if they weren’t proposing a trade, Ian was more valuable to them than what they lost. That made sense.
She took the last swig from her cool beer, the flavours melting on her tongue. The hop, the carbonation, they all worked together in perfect harmony to create a tangy, bittersweet beer. It was complex, like a whisky, which was why she enjoyed it so much.
Regretfully, she looked at her empty glass, wishing she had more.
“You want another?” Lilith asked, gesturing to the bartender.
She was surprisingly attentive, Sam remarked. This time, she pulled her wallet from her back pocket again and slapped a tenner on the bar. “Yes, but I’m paying this time.”
“I told you, it’s on the house.”
“I’m not comfortable with that,” she argued. “I don’t know you enough for that.”
“Oh, so if I knew you better, you’d let me?” Lilith teased, her voice suddenly a lot lower.
A shiver ran down Sam’s spine as the other woman leaned in, her breath hot on her jaw. She was close, so close she could smell the perfume lingering on her skin. Orange blossom, maybe grapefruit, and something heavier, something deep and musky.
“I— ummm...” Sam stuttered, not usually lost for words.
“Shh, shh, shh.” Lilith chuckled breathily, her eyes glowing blue. “I’d sure love to get to know you better. Like I said before, humans are great fun.”
There was something mesmerising about the lights dancing in Lilith’s eyes, around her. They were beautiful and Sam was compelled to come closer, to follow them wherever they promised to take her. She wanted to touch the lights and drown in Lilith’s voice, eager to obey her every command.
The desire birthed in her stomach and quickly overtook her entire body, erasing every thought, every reasoning, until she was only left with the image of Lilith on her mind and the promise of an unforgettable night.
The two inched closer, their lips a breath apart.
A flicker of doubt flashed through Sam’s head, but she couldn’t remember why kissing Lilith wasn’t a good idea. Instead, she held perfectly still, the anticipation of being kissed drumming in her ears. Her pulse quickened from the sheer thought of Lilith’s lips, of tasting the rosé wine on her tongue, of kissing the beautiful, alluring woman with stars in her eyes.
Lilith brushed her thumb down Sam’s cheek, the gesture surprisingly tender for someone like her, and her lips followed. Magic sparked, Samantha’s entire body hummed in a way she’d forgotten it could. Just when she was getting into it, it was all over.
- Writer
