Unease plagued the blonde as he continued with his nightly duties. He had not seen a sign of Caleb hours after his departure. The young man was new to this profession. His inattentiveness and overall demeanor made him a poor choice for this occupation. He was easily distracted during his normal daily tasks back home. Caleb even had a penchant to be reckless for the sake of adventure and had caused his fair share of trouble throughout their shared childhood.
Too many thoughts of the unknown gnawed at the back of the Everett’s mind.
How was he supposed to inform Malcolm on this situation?
The older gentleman expressed how he already despised the idea of Everett doing this particular job but he was going to be absolutely livid when he found out that Caleb was now in the occupation.
Everett knew Caleb would never tell the man himself.
He would take this secret to the grave with him and that would be one of the things that worried the blonde most.
The idea of finding his friend’s exsanguinated corpse in a back alleyway, away from prying eyes, had Everett swallowing thickly. He pictured the lifeless eyes that were once filled with youthful mischief and the dried steams of blood that stood out against pallid skin.
Even with his blessing, only God knew how long it was before either of them would meet their end.
That being said, Everett needed to figure out a way to get Caleb to quit.
Caleb was stubborn and Everett knew he wouldn’t just quit if he asked. He couldn’t risk bringing the raven on dangerous assignments with him either but not having any way to know if his friend was alright was going to drive him insane.
Caleb’s safety was an unwelcome distraction.
“Hun, you look a tad worse for wear.”
Everett blinked as he took a step back to observe the woman standing before him beneath the street’s gaslight. The first thing he noticed was her well-endowed bosom due to the first few buttons being undone. Next was her long and curly, strawberry blonde hair that hid part of her face though her gaze held his before a smile pulled at red painted lips. When the man said nothing, she placed a delicate hand upon his shoulder before circling the man in almost inquisitive yet playful manner before she stood in front of him once more. She then crooked her finger to beckon Everett forth she stepped into the alleyway.
“Why don’t I keep you company, dear? Help you... relax?”
A distraction would have been nice.
However, tasks and thoughts were all Everett had to himself.
Time was not.
Following after a lady of the night while on duty would be frowned upon if his higher ups found out. The repercussions of such an act would be quite troublesome. Adding all that on top of the stress of dealing with Caleb’s sudden occupational emergence was just going to be tedious so he decided against it.
Hearing the woman’s sultry call from the shadows as he opted to head in the other direction, the blonde hesitantly followed after her voice to at least warn her before coming to a stop when he no longer heard her. Looking every which way, Everett headed back towards the main street before hearing footsteps on the cobbled path behind him. Casually reaching for his satchel, he looked over his shoulder to see no one behind him. He stopped altogether when he faced forward to see the woman standing there before she proceeded forward once more to take his hand.
“I must ask you to cease, missus,” he requested as he took a step back, “and come back to the main road.”
“Why?” she questioned gently as she pressed against him. “We could stay here away from prying eyes, hun.”
His attention then dropped down to the partially exposed bosom that was presented to him before looking up to meet the woman’s eyes in the dimmed glow of a gaslight. A faint blush creeped across the man’s face before he averted his gaze. His face darkened further when she leaned forward prior to a finger pressing against his lips when he went to tell the her to stop.
“Miss-”
“Love...”
Confusion painted itself across Everett’s face as the woman wrapped herself around his arm. “Love?”
“... supper.”
A tremor ran up the man’s spine as he turned to see a figure emerging from the darker parts of the alleyway. Their pace was somewhat irregular, what with the uneven strides and labored breaths. Despite all that, Everett found himself shoving the woman aside when the newcomer bolted forward with the intention of snagging the blonde. Escaping the next few swings, the man reached for his back pocket to feel it empty. Patting himself down, he then remembered the sound of something clattering before looking around the darkened area.
Reaching into his bag when he couldn’t find what he was looking for, he retrieved the wooden crucifix before holding it out in front of him. That halted the attack momentarily before hissing ensued at the next assault. As sharpened nails slashed into his hand, Everett hissed under his breath as they also cut the strap of his bag.
Eyeing the satchel with its items strewn across the ground, Everett reached into the dark to grasp a silver bolt. He was then knocked into a wall when he tried to find the crossbow. Pulling himself onto his feet, the man flinched when his back was slammed into the wall prior to having a hand seize his neck. It steadily applied pressure before his head was forced to the side.
Feeling hot beath on his skin, his blood ran cold before shoving the bolt into the other’s mouth. Loud hissing ensued immediately after before Everett kicked his leg out to catch his attacker in the stomach. Another kick provided enough space to distance himself before he fumbled around for the missing crossbow.
Coming across the stake instead, Everett whirled around to plunge the item; however, his hand being caught was not part of the plan. Fumbling around with the satchel, he swung it at his attacker’s head before switching the stake to his other hand to deliver his attack. His hand was seized again before there was hissing in his ear.
“H...hungry...”
Everett’s bloodied hand felt some slick across the surface before the man received a pleased hum. Making out the thing to be a tongue, Everett tried pulling his hand away. He bit back a pained growl as his hand was slammed into the wall before headbutting his attacker to get free. He stumbled as he tried to regain his balance before dodging to snag the stake he had dropped. Everett then utilized it as a muzzle when he was tackled to the ground.
The sound of splintering wood reminded the man that the stake wouldn’t last forever.
As soon as it snapped, Everett pushed the jagged end into the other’s mouth before shoving it forward. Pained screeching ensued followed by something warm splattering onto the blonde’s face. His arms then came up to block the onslaught of clawed fingers aimed at his face and throat before he managed to kick his attacker away.
He could feel the blood streaming down his arms as he rolled to his feet. The sound of wood clattering against the cobbled path also alerted him to the other getting free. Everett then braced himself for another attack though one never came as he heard the woman let out a startled cry.
“E...Eliza...beth?” Everett turned towards the ragged voice before looking back at the other pair as he heard shuffling. “Let her... go.”
Everett squinted in the dark to see another figure just behind the woman. He could just make out the barest glint of metal at her throat. His attention then went back to the figure holding the woman hostage as his previous attacker rushed towards them.
“Ah, ah, ah...” Everett recognized the voice immediately. “Let him go first.”
“W... what are y-you doing?” she stammered as the newcomer maneuvered them further away. Her voice took on a more panicked tone soon after. “W-Willl-?”
The newcomer tutted as his free hand covered her mouth. “Such a troublesome woman.”
“E...Eliza...beth!” There was a hiss followed by a swing. “Give her back to me!”
The other dodged quickly before pushing the woman aside to swing as well. The coppery scent of blood followed before the sound of hissing once more. The faint pattering of blood onto the ground accented the coppery smell before the hissing grew louder.
The hurried over to her love before the Everett had the chance to grab her. “W-William?!”
“...b-beth....” the voice rasped out. “h...hungry...”
“Caleb!”
Said person dashed for the woman before tensing at a muffled scream. Her cries strained against the hand clamped over her mouth leaving only the sound of slurping before everything grew to silence.
“...beth...” There was a choked sob. “...love...”
Caleb grasped his knife tightly as the woman was lowered to the ground. Reaching into his bag, he backpedaled to avoid being tackled. Pulling out a stake as they lunged for him, Caleb went to plunge it into his attacker before being knocked into the wall. His hand was seized as he went to thrust the item into the other’s chest before it dropped in favor of trying to pull away the hand at his throat. Another hand was soon forcing his head to the side despite his attempts at removing it.
Hot breath fanned over his skin though it was a shiver ran up Caleb’s spine. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew a knife and swung before having hand grabbed. The pressure on it made his bones shift and made real the threat of breaking. The sound of raspy breaths was then overshadowed something louder.
It took but a moment to realize that it was his heartbeat.
Hissing broke him from his thoughts as the hold on his hand slackened momentarily. Caleb took that opportunity to swing the knife in that instant before he was thrown to the ground. Peering through the dark, he watched as his attacker struggled to rid themself of the silver blade lodged in its stomach before reaching into his bag for another.
Caleb tensed at the sound of footsteps before looking up to see the slight glow of burning red eyes staring down at him. The knife that was once lodged clanged against the stone alley before the man lunged.
A bolt then struck the attacker in the shoulder. A second then third struck the man in the stomach and chest in quick succession before he fell face first. Caleb stared down at the vampire as his body burst into flames until nothing but ash remained. His attention was then upon the woman that suddenly twitched. Caleb grabbed his knife before then woman slowly sat up. She was struck by a bolt to the side of the head before she got the chance to lunge.
Everett hurried over and seized the raven’s knife, plunging it into her chest before she even had the chance to attack again. As her body went to flames, the blonde bowed his head and said a prayer until the last of the ash blew away.
“That was... amazing!” Caleb exclaimed as he wiped the ash from his knife. He then collected one of the bolts before turning his attention to the man getting to his feet. “That rush–!”
Mismatched eyes then shifted to pin his companion with a glare. “Go home.”
Caleb watched Everett’s figure in the dark as he collected the bolts. “What?”
“You heard me,” came the reply.
“But why?” Everett headed back towards the main street. “You need me!”
“I do not need you here,” Everett said. “What I need is for you to go home.”
Caleb chased after him as he tucked the crossbow into his bag with some difficulty. “You need my help!”
“Go home.”
“You need my help!” Caleb shot back “You would have been bitten if I did not show up!”
Everett glared at him. “You think this is a game?” He then stepped towards his friend as he held up his arms to show the remnants of bloodstained fabric. “You think what happened back there was... was amazing?! I have been worried sick about your safety this entire time and when you show up you expect me to accept your help with open arms?!”
Caleb scowled back at the blonde. “Just accept the fact that you need me. I helped.”
“You stabbed that monster in the stomach, Caleb!” Everett snapped as he got in the raven’s face. “What good would you be to me if you do not even know where to plunge your stake?!”
“Ev–!”
“I will not say this again,” Everett warned. “Go home.” Dark eyes narrowed slowly. “I will tell Malcolm.”
“No.”
“Do not test me, Caleb.”
Said person hardened his glare before it finally faltered. “Ev, please?”
“No.”
“Ev –!”
“Do not show up to the church tonight and do not show up tomorrow,” he ordered as he pointed in the opposite direction. “Home now and stay in the light.”
Everett received yet another glare before Caleb collected himself to return home. Watching as the raven faded from sight, Everett took heed to the stinging ache in his arms as he observed the deep gashes. He would need time to recover. His attention then slowly rose towards the alleyway as the familiar presence from just the other night. Staring into the darkness for just a moment more, Everett decided that it was best to return to his room for the night.
He wanted to be well rested for when he gave the father a piece of his mind the next day.
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