The Unexpected
Early morning Indra watched the sun rise as he stretched his body while holding his mask that everyone knew him for not ever seeing his real face.
'Spade' He thought to himself as he began to chuckle 'What a silly name to call myself' as he put the mask on the bed behind him.
'Maybe some food before the mission would be good it's still early and I doubt the girls are up' He said while jumping out the window and once he landed his clothes was a simple black compression shirt and black khaki cargo shorts with sandals.
The village was small but still lively, even still drowning in poverty they still make the best of their situation looking happy as they sold their goods and food to any willing customer.
Walking past the stalls he saw a variety of different foods and sweets he could try and once he stopped at a specific stall he reached for a stick of meat cooking on the grill and touched hands with someone and immediately looked over to his left to see another kid~ if he even can consider himself being a kid anymore given his current background.
His hair was jet black and straight nearly covering his eyes as he wore a brown shirt with green camouflage cargo pants with brown combat boots to complete the outfit as Indra furrowed his eyebrows.
'Is he in the army? If so why is he so...' He thought to himself while looking the guy over again for a second time 'Scrawny' he finished thinking as he grabbed the stick and gave it to him "Here, you need to eat this...I don't know what regimen the military is doing but you need to eat" Indra said as he nodded and took the stick from him.
Moments went by as they stood there as Indra waited for him to eat it so he himself could grab one "What exactly are you waiting for?" Indra asked as he looked up at him seeing his dark brown eyes near lifeless looking "I can't afford this...the military hasn't paid me yet...and I'm a cadet" He said while handing the stick back to Indra as he sighed while rolling his eyes.
Reaching into his pocket he flicked four silver coins to the guy behind the counter and grabbed three more off the grill and gave another to him "Don't sweat it, but you shouldn't be reaching where you can't afford don't you think?" Indra said to him as he watched him eat the rare grilled meat.
"Thank you for doing this for me, most wouldn't have" He said in between bites as they walked and once the wind blew that was when Indra noticed it as the scent hit his nose as his eyes shot straight onto the guy next to him.
'A vampire!? All the way out here, how is it possible!?' He thought as he got a little closer to him as sniffed the air and that was when he could tell given from his senses and the smell he was barely a regular vampire.
"So what's a vamp like you doing all the way out here?" Indra asked casually and in a tone that only he could hear as he watched him stop mid-bite of his food and looked over at Indra as they continued to walk side by side as his heartbeat started to increase.
"You can relax I'm not gonna hurt you or anything like that I'm just curious as to why someone like you is all the way out here" Indra asked as he knew that wasn't enough to get him to talk "The name's Spade, I know it doesn't do any good for my real name but you're actually the first person I've decided to give a name to my face in the open" He finished saying as he reached his hand out to shake.
"Samuel" He said while shaking his hand back and upon touch Indra could feel how weak he was and his senses wasn't playing tricks on him 'How is he a vampire and still so weak?' He thought to himself as he immediately remembered a special book he had took from a Vampire as he reached in his dimensional space and pulled it out.
"Hey man, I don't know you that well but I can tell you're not all that strong so maybe this'll help you out" He said while handing him the book as his face was in slight confusion until he opened the book and became shocked as he kept flipping through the pages then closed the dark red book.
"This thing is priceless! Why would you give it to someone like me?" He asked while giving it another glance "Because humans barely help humans unless it's beneficial not saying vampires are any different but they can be very belittling of anyone they think is below their strength and given that you're don't seem very strong I thought that I give this to you" Indra finished while shrugging his shoulders.
"I don't know much about vampire culture but if not mistaken they normally call royal groups family instead of clan like they used to or maybe both, anyways which family do you belong to?" He asked as Samuel was silent.
"I don't exactly belong to anyone, you see I wasn't originally a Vampire...I was walking home from the grocery store until suddenly I was attacked in a alleyway, I don't even know much about the "Impure race" and now I'm supposed to be apart of it?" He finished while sighing slowly.
To Indra this was someone who was seriously stressed out and he could tell "You can come with me then, I'm on a mission right now but I can solve your vampire problem" Indra said while turning a corner and seeing they was alone he nodded with a sneaky smile that Samuel saw and became confused.
"What's so funny? we're the only ones on this street" He said as Indra grabbed him by the neck and hoisted him up "Exactly so you got a little time to show me what you got" He said while throwing him into a portal and once Samuel landed he looked around and saw where he was at as the sky was black with no sun or moon and just black sky that reflected where they was a lot like a mirror.
'Where the hell am I?' Samuel thought as he looked at the ash colored grass then remembered what he learned from the academy from what he was feeling he couldn't be too sure.
"Trust your instincts! You're a vampire so your senses are already better than a human...what do you sense?" Indra said while appearing a few feet behind him as Samuel turned around slowly as his eyes stayed at the ground.
"What is this...it's like pure evil" Samuel said as he could feel all of his instincts telling him to run away "Focus...you should be able to see what you are looking at" he said as Samuel looked up slowly after gathering himself.
Black energy could be seen covering him as it started to get thick as four eyes could be seen gold in color and four arms as Samuel watched the energy fade "What you just felt was the power and presence of a Demon, now it's engraved in you as I'm pretty sure I scared the ever living shit out of you" Indra finished with a small chuckle.
As he got into a stance Samuel watched the smile he had slowly fade "Show me you are in control" Indra said as it looked like he was far away then suddenly close up as it caught Samuel off guard as Indra's left fist slammed into his face.
His body slid across the ground and once he sat up a leg came into his view as he quickly raised his arms to block and was sent into the air "Wow! You actually blocked it" Indra said with a small nod as Samuel eventually landed on his feet and within that same instant he charged him as fast as he could and once he was within range a flurry of punches was sent out towards Indra's face as he dodged them with ease 'He is too fast to land a punch on him directly' Samuel thought as he kept throwing them as Indra's facial expression became one he couldn't understand.
"If you're gonna use hand to hand combat control your damn breathing and TUCK your damn shoulders!" Indra said while gut punching Samuel as he came off the ground spit flying out of his mouth and once he hit the ground he slowly got back up he saw Indra casually walking over to him.
He shakily put his guard back up as Indra waved his hand for him to stop "I have a clear estimate of where you at, train on that book I gave you and come back to me when you think you got the hang of it" Indra said while grabbing onto him "For now I have a mission to tend to" He finished as they hopped through a portal was back where they was.
But when Samuel looked over to Indra he was wearing a tattered cloak with a mask as it was surprising to him switch clothes like that "Don't tell anyone you've seen my face, you'll end up a target from dangerous people if you do other than that I'll see you around" Indra said as he began walking off.
Once he arrived to the courthouse he could sense his companions inside as he stood off to the side waiting and sensing the area as he thought about his journey and how he got to where he was currently.
Being a orphan thinking and assuming he was a lab rat, fighting every day in a small town fighting off dangers that they slightly thanked him for and didn't receive any real thanks until he was adopted by the infamous Siegfried Tempest the supposedly the only Dragon to exist alongside his assistant Cain and that also includes Silas his older brother that didn't manage to kill him properly with his dimensional attack.
Then there was his allies he gained in the eldritch realm or as the council knows it's similar to purgatory to throw people they can't really handle or when they die naturally and giving that the place is anything but natural so it is no purgatory.
"Hey stranger" Someone said as Indra looked over to a man with a mask that resembled a clown "If you don't wanna get hurt I suggest you get away from here our boss is about to get rid of that crook judge" the man behind the mask finished as Indra didn't respond as then began to walk towards him.
"Well in that case maybe your boss and I should talk then I think we have..." He started saying as he moved his mask to the side as a emerald colored slit eye could be seen as the man was confused as the man was there one moment and the next it felt like he was weightless "A similar connection with the judge" he finished saying while standing behind the man in the clown mask as he himself realized there was a wet sensation at his mouth as he reached up and took the mask off and touched his mouth and realized it was blood and now registering the wet feeling on his pants that was also blood he saw the right side of his gut along with some ribs be destroyed by whatever caused the giant hole.
'Was it because of this man?' He thought as he slowly began to fall to the ground with the mask in hand 'Damn, I wish I had the chance to have one more drink' he thought to himself as he finally hit the ground while his blood began to cover the dirt he laid.
INSIDE THE COURT ROOM
Men had surrounded the stand as a couple of them had guns and few with daggers as one guy was unarmed as he looked at both the judge and the crowd as he wore a clown mask like the rest of them "It's amazing how the crooked can become a judge or in place of power and judge others from their seats while the rest of us struggle" The man began to say as he held his hands behind his back.
"You talk about crooked and yet here you are in MY courtroom causing violence" The judge countered back as the man in the mask turned his way "Like you haven't done any such thing yourself! I know your secret~ the one you hide til this very day!" He screamed with anger as he reached back and tapped one of the guys with the gun and had it aimed at the judge "Your days are over!" He said as he was getting ready to give the order for his man to shoot.
"Hey" They heard a female voice say as they both turned around and saw two women face to face with them but their eyes looked the same as it was red slits that did nothing but capture their attention "Sleep" He heard the silver haired one say to his gunman as he watched him dropped to the floor "Don't move" The red head said to him as he tried to run away but couldn't as confusion was written all over his face.
"I see you two managed to handle the situation" Indra said from behind them as Eva gave a quick nod "Without your help even though you was supposed to be here! This was your plan Spade" Lani complained as he continued on past them and looked at the man in the clown mask and even though no one could see Indra's face the eyes alone put fear in the other masked man.
"I don't know who you are but please you don't have to do this!" He began pleading "That man up there is the real bad guy you're after" He said while nodding as Indra didn't say anything but stare at him for what felt like forever given that he couldn't move "He's the bad guy huh...and yet you're the one standing in this very room holding people hostage to your speech and had a gun aimed at him from his chair" Indra said as the man could do nothing more but sit there and drop his head as suddenly guards had ran in from all directions.
The knights had put him in cuffs and dragged him off as the Judge got down from his stand happily as everyone was escorted out one by one from the courthouse while he went up to the girls he hugged them both then Indra as he held his hand out to stop him "I don't do that" He said as the judge nervously chuckled.
"Thank you all for your valiant service against these men I will let your guild know that you have completed what I needed" He said while walking away from them as Lani rolled her eyes "Well we're finally done out here in this wasteland" She said while walking off as Eva followed behind her but when they looked back they saw Indra standing in his same spot.
"Spade? What's the matter?" Eva asked as she watched him stand there unmoving "That damn judge is hiding something...and it's making me angry" He said as he slowly turned to face them as they could feel it as Lani's eyes became wide as she stared at the ground something making her feel like something foul was in the air that was making it hard of them to even breathe.
One small glance at Eva was when Lani noticed that she was feeling it too as it looked like she was going sick and the fear was well written across her face 'The taboo!! Why does he have that thing riding inside him!' Lani thought as the one thing among all the races is that they never ever make a pact no matter what with a demon.
To her that's exactly what he did and once he turned to face them the energy was gone for what felt like forever was only a mere few moments as they watched Spade walk past them and out the door.
"Eva!" Lani said as she picked her friend up as they both still trembled slightly "That energy, it felt so foul!" Eva said as she gave another deep breath "He's insane! I know you felt what I felt Eva!" Lani screamed as Eva froze in her tracks before getting halfway to the door "What about it Lani?" Eva said in a defeated tone "What do you mean what about it?! He made a pact with a demon!" Lani repeated as she was feeling her own anger and worry boil.
"What can we do Lani! We are on the run from the council with no way back to our home because we lost the key and even if we did and was home he's not a vampire so it's not like they would care about him unless he steps foot in our domain, right now the best thing for him is to not be caught and reported to the council" Eva said as she walked out the building.
HOURS LATER
Lani was sitting in her room at the motel after she and Eva had to sign the paperwork saying they completed the task given to them from when they first initially came this way all the way down to protecting the judge but they couldn't figure out where Spade went given that the carriage was still where they left it.
Eva was taking a bath since it was already night out and Lani was still trying to convince herself on why she shouldn't just leave Spade here to begin with and after moment of pondering her thoughts and Eva arguing with her on why she should wait for his return she got up and stomped towards the door.
'I'll just go look for that asshole myself' Lani thought and once she opened the door a man could be seen standing there as her eyes widened before her face walked slam into his chest and once she looked up cold amber eyes met hers behind a mask as she immediately recognized him.
"Come with me" He said while walking off as it threw Lani off before she decided to follow behind him and out the motel as they walked the nearly empty streets confused as to where exactly he was taking her until they reached what looked like the jail for prisoners "Do you have the strength to use that mind control skill you have?" He asked her without turning to face her as she looked confused.
"Yes I do, why?" Lani asked as he said nothing but walk up the steps and once they reached the door her confusion became greater as she was for sure places like this would be closed for visitation at night and upon opening the door guards and knights were laid out all across the floor.
"What the hell is this! What did you do!" She said in anger as she looked at the bodies of everyone on the floor and given her sense of smell there was any sign of blood being spilt even then in her mind what he just did could ruin the reputation of the guild as she took a fighting stance "What you just did to these people could ruin the guild, I have to take you in?"
"Take me in?" He repeated back to her as he turned around to face her as she still stared at him fiercely "And who exactly can you turn me over to? These people here are unconscious so they cannot help you even if they could none of you are strong enough to face me" He said to her as she scoffed remembering the taboo energy of a Demon.
"Face me without the help of that Demon you riding in your meat suit, then we'll see who's strong enough" Lani said as she launched at him covering the distance in seconds and once she was in front of him she threw a uppercut to his body and a flurry of punches to his body and sent her final punch to his face as he went flying across the room and landed on the floor next to the bodies of the guards and knights as Lani started smiling eat to ear in excitement.
"I always knew you weren't invincible and you had the nerve to be talking to us like you were some kind of hotshot"
"And yet you allowed your mind to be vulnerable" a voice said behind her and once she turned around it was Spade looking down at her as she froze in place "To think that you'd be so desperate to win a fight against me that you'd allow your mind vulnerable to something as silly as a illusion, a real warrior never allows there mind to become a play thing of someone else~ if you ever think you can defeat me with that weak state of mind of yours I will not hesitate to do you like I did that noble that challenged the guild except when I kill you..." He said while leaning in closely to her face "I will not bring you back" He finished while brushing past her towards the double doors.
She stayed still for a moment thinking about what just happened, If he had wanted to he could've killed her while she was focused on the illusion and would be forever confused on her way to the afterlife.
Finally following him to the doors they could see the other prisoners as they passed the cells she watched Spade stop at a certain one as it was the man in the clown mask "What the?" He said as he saw them standing in front of his cell door confusion written all over his face "I have a couple of questions for you" Spade began to say as he grabbed Lani and walked through the bars as if they were never there.
The man backed away as he hit the wall with nowhere else to go as he looked around to see the other prisoners still sleeping and seeing what he was about to do as Lani eyes became red slits "Be quiet" She said before the man could holler or call out to anyone "Stay still" she continued to say as he was restricted from moving just like before when he was arrested.
"I have a question for you, you answer them and I let you go freely" He said as the man's eyes got wide as he looked at the girl as she didn't confirm or deny what Spade was saying "My question to you is, why did you attack the court house and if it really was because of the judge what did he do?" Spade said as the man looked at him.
"Why were you angry with the Judge?" Lani asked him as his eyes looked glazed over as if he was unconscious "He has been killing kids and when he was almost caught he killed a whole family....my family" He said as Lani froze at what he said sadness, confusion and anger coursing through her as she watched Spade go up to him and rest a hand on his shoulder "You are now free, the Judge is now in my hands, any revenge you take on his friends or family I will kill you for " Spade said as he pushed him through the wall and once the man saw that he was actually outside and went through a wall as if he was a ghost he knew he had them to thank as he left the area as quickly as possible.
She couldn't understand the emotions she was feeling as she heard what that man was saying, so many emotions at once as she felt her hands trembling and her legs getting weak remembering memories of her past moments she rather forget "You see how crooked the world is? Imagine if we had let him go to jail for getting justice when the ones who was in the wrong are the people in power" Spade said as he walked away from her "And who the hell are you supposed to be!" Lani shouted as tears rolled down her face.
"You can't save us!" She continued to shout as her fists were balled up to the point where her fingernails drew blood "You are one man, how are you supposed to save us all huh? Somehow you got all the answers and yet you couldn't even defeat your own family and you expect me to believe that you can take on the ones in power?! EVEN THE COUNCIL?!" She finished as she huffed and puffed for air as Spade walked up to her and once his hand came up she closed her eyes not wanting to get caught in any illusion that he might cast.
A single moment went by until she felt a hand wipe away her tears as she opened her eyes to see Spade caressing her right cheek after wiping the tears "I can do this...you just have to trust me if you are capable" He said as he started heading out the building with Lani close behind.
Once they reached the Judge's home she watched Spade go up to the door and walk through it and once she heard a click she opened the door but didn't see him anywhere "Hey! What are you doing here!" She heard coming from up the stairs as she took two steps at a time to reach the top and once she saw the doors she didn't know which room to pick until looking to her right and saw one room had a door cracked open.
Once she made it to the room she saw Spade but looking past him on the bed she saw the child from her motel on the bed tied up and gagged as she was crying heavily "Lani...take the child and get out" Spade said to her as she went to grab the girl and once she was untied from the ropes she picked her up and started heading for the door "Do you not know who I am!" The judge began to shout at Spade as it stopped Lani in her tracks "I AM THE JUDGE, I can RUIN your lives with ONE phone call do you un~"
"SHUT UP" They all heard Spade said as it sounded distorted, deep and powerful as the same feeling from this morning returned to her as she knew that this was the power of the Demon but didn't realize that his ability with the Demon was this strong as the floor became pitch black like shadows as it then stretched to the walls and ceiling "YOU BELIEVE YOURSELF HOLIER THAN THOU" Spade shouted at the judge as the pressure was getting heavier as they started hearing howling and screeching 'Is this....the screams of souls?' She thought as she then heard a horse neighing loudly and hoofs hitting the ground as if it was running and off to the right a green light could be seen as the hoof beats slowed down as they all could see two horses pulling a black carriage with two glowing green lanterns.
Exiting from the carriage was a tall figure that didn't exit from the shadows from the wall and carriage as he held up a lantern of his own but different in design as it glowed brighter next to what look like a sickle that also glowed brightly as well while green eyes stared out at them as the girl Lani held onto couldn't comprehend what was going on but Lani could to some degree 'The man who is never bounded by fate, destiny or death, the opposite but the same as death but with no followers...' Lani thought to herself in fear as she had a small clue as to who this was.
"Old friend" The powerful voice boomed into the room as he still stood where he was "You have interrupted my route and I'm quite busy to play around right now" He said as Spade grabbed the Judge by the throat and hoisted him up into the air "I have a soul for you, this one is one of your favorites, a judge" He said as the man made a sound of interest as his gaze landed on the judge who was trying to somehow find the ground "You always manage to surprise me, I'll take him off your hands...your highness" He said with a small chuckle at the end as he grabbed the sickle as chains rattling could be heard as Spade threw the judge on the ground and once he looked up they wrapped around him as he snatched into the darkness as screams were heard the moment he was pulled through.
Moments after that the shadows disappeared the way they came as Spade turned around and faced Lani and the girl as he began walking past them and out the home and once they made it outside a carriage was seen as Eva came out of it confusion on her face "I finally found you guys! I thought you both might've been in some trouble but I guess not" She said with a small smile.
"Are you ok?" Spade said as the girl looked up at him as she could only nod her head slowly remembering how he summoned some spirit through the shadows and take the man away permanently she couldn't help but be a little worried if she angered the man in front of her she could be seen being dragged into the shadows.
After getting confirmation he walked off and headed towards the carriage "Who are you guys?" She asked as Lani stopped and looked at her for a moment trying to find the right words "We are the apart of the shadow wolves, we are the uprising duo of A-Class mages Lani and Eva" Eva had said for Lani since it seemed like she was stuck for a moment as the girl gave a small smile and went towards Spade as she hugged him "Thank you for saving me from that man" she said as Spade didn't move or speak as he just looked at the girl.
After saying there last few goodbyes Spade whipped the horses to start heading back to the city of Troy where they guild resided before taking on any more missions as Spade was pretty sure that the barmaids was somehow collecting their half of the payment from their agreement when he left.
The ride was long but quiet for Spade but he could hear the girls talking inside the carriage as only one thought was on his mind which was completing his agenda and once he did that he could finally right the wrongs of everyone.
INSIDE THE CARRIAGE
"I was surprised to see you two together when I came with the carriage" Eva said as she started to pour herself some tea "He asked me to accompany him on something..." Lani said as she recalled the events she experienced with him tonight and Eva could tell it had to be something for her to be acting this way and from the expression on her face it had to be serious "You like him now don't you?" Immediately after that her face became red as Eva started smirking and chuckling slightly "Who would've thought that the one that had the most problem with him would be the one that falls in love with him" She said while laughing.
"I'm not in love with him!" Lani said trying sip her tea as she huffed and looked out the window "I just acknowledge his power now that's all" She said while remembering what he did in the police station to all those guards, herself included "Well whatever happened I'm glad it did so I can stop listening to you complain about him" Eva said as she sipped her tea while reading a book while Lani was remembering the events of her crying and Spade wiping her tears.
'I guess he's not too bad' She thought as she soon found herself almost going to sleep which was a rare occasion for vampires only to find the carriage stopping as Spade hopped off and once they opened the door they found themselves back in the city of Troy and once they got out the carriage and horse stayed off to the side of the guild.
Upon entering the guild shocked faces could be seen and whispering as they stopped at the bar "To actually believe you three was doing missions together" Mira said as her brown hair was now in a ponytail "Yeah kinda we're on a small break before we do anymore of them" Eva said as Raven gave her a confused look.
"About that" Raven said as she pulled out a piece of paper and laid it down on the counter as Eva could tell it was a letter as she picked it up and saw it was from the guild master as Raven turned to Spade seeing how motionless he has been the whole time
"WHAT" Eva shouted as she was shaking the paper as she seconds away from ripping it as Lani was confused to her anger not yet reading the paper "What's wrong?" She said as Eva turned to her paper still in hand as she shook it "We have to go to military school!" She said while still violently shaking the paper violently and once Lani too it and read it herself she also saw Spade's part in the letter as well "And since Spade wasn't an official member he has to either join with us at the school or be suspended until further notice" Lani said while looking at Spade.
"Which also applies to us if we refuse military school" Eva said as she facepalmed wondering what would their next course of action would be but Spade did nothing as he walked out as the girls followed "Wait!" Lani shouted as he didn't walk very far from the guild and once they caught up with him he turned to face them.
"Are you really gonna take the suspension?" Lani asked as they heard a small sigh come from Spade "No, I know a kid that's in the military school program, maybe I'll go there and request to have his schedule" He said as he could tell there was something that they wanted to know "What is it? I can tell you both are thinking about something" He said as they looked at each other before nodding in agreement of something "Is it possible for you to send us home?" Lani asked as Spade knew what they meant as he crossed his arms.
"The Vampire Society right? Why can't you get back on your own?" He asked as they both looked embarrassed "We lost the key to get back it's a long story but sending us back would make us really grateful we're better off home versus military school" Eva said while Spade nodded his head.
"Ok, I can make it happen on one condition" He said as they both expected something lie this would happen "I have a what you would call an apprentice named Samuel...you make sure Samuel isn't hunted down or somehow killed by your people and I'll send you both back home" He said as they both felt like that was something easy to agree on "We have a deal" They both said in unison as Spade grabbed them both as they both started to feel weak.
"Uphold your end of the deal...It will be a while before anyone crosses paths with me" He said as they was confused by what he meant as they were shoved and while they were stumbling back they tripped over a branch and into bushes, once they stood they could see trees everywhere and looking up to the sky to see it pitch black with light red clouds made them both smile slightly.
"We are home" They both said while dusting their clothes off and began heading in any direction hoping to find a trail or at-least another person.