Present

  Intrigued by the events unfolding, Sylvie smiled and held up her hand. “An, since we have a few minutes I have to get the special sto the baake you a Bloody Madelyn.” She chuckled, “I will give you a point finality.”

  “Who says our kind ’t have a sense of humor?” An winked and took a steady slow breath. “Make it heavy on the Bloody Madelyn mix, please.” He flickered his eyes across the bar at the patrons who were filing in. “We have enough issues without me getting overly hungry.”

  Opening the swing door to the bar, Sylvie headed back to her offid jerked a couple bottles of blood out of a milk crate and headed back to the bar to deal with An.

  “Hey, who’s the brown-eyed nibbler I saw you talking to, Sylvie?” Veronica stopped Sylvie by tugging on her arm and peeking around her mistress to look at the gentleman. “Please tell me he’s a friend of yours.”

  Thinking about her watch, Sylvie noticed it read 10:07. “Veronica, do me a favor and turelevision to el ten.” She looked at her quivering blood bunny. “Yes, he’s a friend. I do believe he’s about to show me something important.” Sylvie licked her lips, “I don’t think his arrival is a good thing, Veronica?” Laughing quietly after seeing the sparkle in her bunnies’ eyes, Sylvie pyfully gushed, “I think he’s sioo.”

  “Really?” Veronica hopped lightly on her feet and smiled wide. “ you ask?” Veroniervously nibbled on her lip.

  Nodding and then pointing to the television once more, “I will. Please get the el to ten.” Sylvie watched her friend nearly dance off with delight. Haviuro the bar, Sylvie pulled a frosty mug from a cooler and mixed a bit of vodka with a spsh of tomato juice then filled the rest of the gss with real blood. “One Bloody Madelyn.” She stuck a pea the side and winked. “In case you o emute biting.”

  Laughing, An pulled a napkin from the bar a down for Sylvie. “Cute. I see your sense of humor hasn’t left you.” He poio the s. “It’s ing up, and it’s one heck of a story.”

  “Alright, An.” Sylvie shook her head and looked up at the s, “You are really excited for some reason.”

  -“Wele back to 14 News at 10. We are currently trag a tragedy out of Emporia ing an uified college student from Southside Vocational Academy. Reporter Haley Grant is on se with the details”-

  Sylvie looked strangely at An, “College student does something stupid? How is this a problem?”

  Pulling a small tug from his bloody drink, An wiped his lips. “Just give her a bsp; The feed is about to start.” He pointed back to the television.

  -“Roughly three ho, polid emergenits were called in respoo a young man found not breathing and unscious in a on room. When I inquired, I was told officially that the room is meant for small gatherings and a pce to discuss items to be improved or duties for the dorms. However, that isn’t the whole story. The room also happens to have the best Wi-Fi spot on campus and a vast majority of students e here to py video games.”-

  Watg as the reporter sed the empty room, Sylvie saw all of the makeshift pces for kids to sit, as well as wires stig out of the walls. “An, I am not teical enough here, that was Kody’s fir. Why me?” Sylvie rolled her half-moon eyes lightly when An once again raised his finger and the reporter tinued.

  -“firmed by multiple students, who wao remain anonymous, they all agreed that the young man had been pying a new game that was released five days ago. Described as an endurand first-person shooting game, there is also a substantial reward for being the first to plete the game. Iioning, I came to the clusion that the student hadn’t stopped pying sis release. What that ultimately means, is left for the medical examio decide. The student’s name and pictures are being held by politil the family has been tacted.”-

  Tipping the leftover bottle of blood she’d used in An’s mixed drink, Sylvie relished the cool feeling against the burn of her throat before speaking. “What does this have to do with me, An? Sounds like the kid just pyed a game too long.”

  “e on, Sylvie. When was the st time you read or saw something about a game killing a person?” An finished off his drink and smiled. “Another?” He waited until Sylvie had pulled out an and began mixing another before tinuing, “There’s more to it. One of the EMTs on site is a thrall of mine…”

  Dropping the twisted and long bar spoon, Sylvie faced her friend. “Naturally you left out the important part.” She waved at the television. “So what did your thrall have to say about it?”

  “He tells me that the kid iion was dehydrated. Now how the hell does a college stude dehydrated to death pying a video game?” An nodded his head when the sed Bloody Madelyn reached his hands. “My thanks.”

  “EMT is not a doctor. How the hell does your thrall know that was the case?” Sylvie folded her arms and raised one of her eyebrows. “I am still fused about what this has to do with me.” She poio the drinks. “That will be twenty.”

  “Steep price for a friend, only two drinks.” He wiggled his brown eyebrows pyfully and dropped the cash on the bar. “Fine, no he’s not a doctor. He mentiohe kid being pale almost like he’d been drained, but not..” An whispered, “...one of us.”

  Tapping a few things on the s, Sylvie rang up the twin drinks and added the moo the cash drawer before closing it with her hip. “Special ingredients ore.” She held up a finger, “That was the friend's pribsp; If you’d been a stranger I wouldn’t have bothered, or charged triple.” She winked and leaned on the bar so she was closer to An. “Alright, I cede that it is odd. What does it have to do with me? Emporia is about twenty miles south of Petersburg. So it wouldn’t be ected to anything that I recollect.”

  An pulled off all of the silver items he was wearing and shoved it to Sylvie. “I am trying to gain favor to be on the ref Regional cil, Sylvie.” He poio the television, “Solving things like that or looking into them before they are a problem makes me look proactive and helpful to the others around here, I mean we do have to hold an informal vote, if you recall.” He poked at the pile of jewelry, “Use that to cover what expenses you incur.” He shrugged, “It’s useless to me at this point.”

  “I was told the meeting is over the weekend, and in the Phas building, which I am not fond of.” She patted An on the arm, “I have said before that going ba there is a risk. Police are still poking all over the pbsp; Going there and slipping in for a little drink and voting is a bad pn.”

  “What could happen? I mean you own the building, right?” An took a sip of his drink.

  Fshes of the st time she’d been in the building flowed from her memory and Sylvie shook her head defiantly. “Yes, I am the st owner on the deed that is … alive.” Her eyes bck as new moons bore into An. “I have no trespassing signs up all over the pbsp; That still doesn’t mean a thing. If we go poking around in there looking for surveilhen whoever is watg will know that someone has returned.” Knog nervously on the bar, Sylvie protested further, “I have been w for six months to demolish the building.” She raised her eyebrows high, “I haven’t had a single pany want the work. They all are wildly superstitious, like they think the pce is haunted or sits on some burial mound thanks to the fug bones found during the so-called iigation.”

  Holding up both his hands, An gave in to Sylvie’s ster cool rant. “Very well. We will pie of the undergrounds for the meeting. I don’t foresee many of the brethren showing up. I mean the area was wiped after that attack, right?”

  Notig that they were getting off track, Sylvie sighed and debriefed her friend. “Initially, yes. There were only thralls without any power. Things worked out for a little while, they worked and earned on the manrounds.” Sylvie’s eyes shifted to small crests, “After a while, most of them wahat rush and power babsp; Got themselves turned into us. We have a flock of younglings in the area.” She poked An’s nice suit, “That is who you are trying to impress.”

  “Fine, so what if I am? I have the only troupe in the area and the region needs another cil.” An picked up the mug and dowhe remaining tents. “We need ce damned o Dd Rid is getting worse by the day.” He straightened his jacket, “I have enough experiend time to know most of what’s going on around here…” He held up a finger, “...I also have people ihat keep me informed.”

  Drawing little circles on her bar with her finger, Sylvie responded, “What does this have to do with me? You have a troupe, you have the resources. I am only running a tiny bar and barely keeping a few blood bunnies happy.”

  “Holy, Sylvie?” An posed and ughed. “Teically this is still your mess to up.”