Ichor : Blood & Secrets

Chapter 22

"A game to others, but not to you." said the woman. "Fine.. you got me, alright? what do you want?" asked Darren. "A talk.. that's all." said the waitres.

"We are already talking." replied Darren. "In private." said the waitress to which Darren then freezes for a second, then soon starts to smile as he turns away. "What? did I say anything wrong?" asked the waitress. "Uhmmm noo, nothing." said Darren.

"Then follow me, quietly." said the waitress with a wink as she starts walking away while Darren leads himself to have another drink, then prepares himself as he departs, following her from distance as she heads out into the alleyway on the exterior door, then into the abandoned warehouse through a trap door which Darren doesn't seem to spot out that it's suspicious until he gets down into the trap door as well, and finds himself trapped within a dark room with nothing to be seen except for ruins and rubbles of a ancient clinic for the diseased.

"Hello? you there? strangely enough, I don't hear your heartbeat, or anyone's for that matter." continued Darren yelling within the creepy old ruin while a disturbing sinister figure starts creeping in back and forth from the shadows to which Darren finds a unusual feeling to be crept out of.

"Listen.. if you're gonna show up with a entrance, do it now, or otherwise I'm about to leave because I.." continued Darren speaking out until suddenly from the shadows, a disturbing figure with six demonic hands as well as a pair of human ones start grabbing into him from behind, trying to rip him apart which he counters as he throws it away with all his force while it peels away the skin of his by tightly holding until it gets thrown away.

"Ugh... little b***h! you're gonna.. wait, what?" asked Darren in shock, upon the revelation that the monster with demonic hands is revealed to be a distraught version of the waitress, with partial of her appearance as human while other parts remain part of something demonic.

"Easy there tiger.. you don't wanna play rough?" asked the waitress in rather a seducing voice, but her partial demonic appearance makes it disgusting to bear that Darren took her for a beauty.

"You're one of his lackeys, aren't you? Ahriman sent you." said Darren, realising she was a demon all along.

"Aww, look at you, no wonder you're smart, yes, you big i***t, my great master, Ahriman, did send me, he didn't ask me to kill you or anything, just a message.. and a gift, based on what you like." said the demonic waitress.

"Both are not required, does Ahriman know we are all here?" asked Darren. "Not yet.. but I'm willing to tell, unless if you give me what I want." said the demonic waitress. "What is it that you want?" asked Darren.

"The girl, one who called out the dead and living to her heed, Ahriman wants her, badly." said the demonic waitress. "He will not have her.. she's one of our family now, name something else." said Darren. "Do you, have any idea, who you're dealing with? Ahriman is Elder, Ahriman is all, what he wants, he shall take." said the demonic waitress.

"From the way I see it, he doesn't get what he needs with lackeys like you working around for him, tell me, why do you put yourself to work with a spineless coward like him?" asked Darren.

"Mind your language, freak! (sighs) sorry.. Darren, please, listen to me, you do not want Ahriman on your bad side, your brothers may be stupid, but not you, you see reason, you know this war will end badly enough for both of us." said the demonic waitress. "That is.. true.. this will end badly enough, but the alternative is death." said Darren.

"No, absolutely not! you have my assurance that your world, and yourself, will be left unchecked, Ahriman only harms those who stand against him, if you pledge your allegiance, he will not lay a finger on you, or your people." said the demonic waitress.

"Charming, but I'll decline, never make a deal with the devil, in this case, a demon." said Darren.

"Careful dear, think it through, look at what he did to your species for the past several days, Kleham is on fire.. seven of your colonies gone.. you, your brothers, sisters, entire family, are ought here in hiding while Ahriman continues hunting you down like animals, do you seriously believe you will have a chance to win over him?" asked the demonic waitress as Darren waits out for a moment, thinking it through, until he comes for a decision.

"So, if I were to offer Aya to you, you will speak on my behalf, and Ahriman will induct me as his own?" asked Darren. "Yes.. exactly, Ahriman never goes behind his words, you'll see." said the demonic waitress. "Interesting.. that he needs a man on the inside, maybe he isn't as strong as he thinks he is." said Darren.

"What?" asked the demonic waitress until Darren throws off his dagger tail from his coat directly towards the demonic waitress until it entangles her completely.

"Payback bitch." said Darren who pulls it out completely as it rips away several parts of her flesh while she screams in pain until Darren fully gasps of his weapon and sheaths it while she drops down.

"Let's play, shall we?" asked Darren as he enrages and sprints off to fight while she takes in a minute then comes ahead to fight back.

Meanwhile, within the tavern, Ayame finally arrives from below to inform on current situation regarding what happened above towards Darren, but as she enters and takes a look around, Darren is nowhere to be found at all.

"Shit.. now where did he go?" whispered Ayame as she suddenly gets startled by surprise when the brute behind her chops down the table to which she turns.

"Hello there, girl, something I can help you with?" asked the brute with a creepy smile that Ayame finds it uncomfortable with. "Uhmm.. no thank you." said Ayame. "Oh, come on, don't be afraid." replied the brute to which Ayame sighs and decides to ask him what she is looking for.

"Uhmmm, by any chance, you came across a drooling vampire named Darren? he's kind of a loner." said Ayame. "Oh, that freak, yeah, he was hanging here around somwhere." said the brute.

"Wait, you saw him?" asked Ayame.

"Everyone did, it's hard not to miss a original around, especially when he's drinking that much." said the brute. "Right.. where can I see him?" asked Darren. "Ask over to the bartender, he'll know." said the brute.

"Okay, thanks.. I guess I'll see you around." said Ayame as she turns around and goes over to the bartender while avoiding unwanted sights and whispers that revolve around her. "Hi, I am looking for Darren, do you know where he is?" asked Ayame.

"Already another girl out to look for him? must be his lucky day." said the bartender. "Another?" asked Ayame. "Yeah, just an hour ago, a girl came down looking for him, Darren was here then, so she poured him drinks, then the two of them were nowhere to be found." said the bartender.

"Oh.. dear, he might not have.." said Ayame before bartender interrupts her and finishes her sentence. "She was bloody attractive, and more older, might try your luck with the other boys." said the bartender.

"God no, I didn't come looking for that, it's.. complicated.. any chance where I can find this.. attractive lady's home address?" asked Ayame.

"Not likely, I haven't seen her around, but she looked Asian, might try looking in the abandoned church, a lot of travellers and refugees stay there." said the bartender.

"Oh, alright, thank you, for the uhmm, information, why are you showing your hand like that?" asked Ayame as the bartender in half way of her response, suddenly fake coughs and opens his hand out to offer him something.

"Information is costly these days, if you know what I mean?" asked the bartender.

"Right, of course.." said Ayame who goes off to check in her pockets, only to see her wallet missing. "I.. I can't find my wallet." said Ayame to which the bartender sighs and talks it out.

"Fine, it's free information, now scram before they steal your clothes as well." said the bartender.

"But it's missing, it was right.." said Ayame before getting interrupted by the bartender.

"Leave, kid.. this is no place for a little girl." said the bartender to which Ayame turns away, concerned about where her wallet went, until the feather she placed in it suddenly catches her scene as he deeply tries to trail it, leading outside as she starts to run off through the exit.

"Happy trails, and don't come back, not without your wallet." shouted the bartender as Ayame heads out, trailing the scent while running off into the dark alleyways through acrobatic jumps and slides almost like a trained individual until she finally comes across the one who stole her wallet from her, revealed to be a hooded figure trying to run away as he got up from the ladder until Ayame spots him right away.

"Hey! you! stop!" shouted Ayame to which the hooded figure turns, revealed to be a human male of her age, but skin is made of something like anything she ever seen, except for his blue luminous eyes which Ayame finds it familiar before.

"Give me my wallet back." said Ayame. "What wallet?" asked the kid to which Ayame gets frustrated but sighs.

"Don't try to play with me, I know you have it, listen, I can offer you.. hey! wait!" shouted Ayame when suddenly the kid starts to run away without looking back to which Ayame then starts to run after him, following him up with climbing herself above the building within seconds and begins her chase.