Reinforcements arrive

[melodymagic]

The car trip to the alley Cian had told them about was a little longer than usual, a roadblock having been set up and the closed-off street full of vehicles with flashing lights and police. Melody strained to see what the commotion was and it looked like there were screens raised in the middle of the pavement outside a bar or club or something. As she settled back into her seat she saw Jazz sniffing at the open window of the car, the witch's face crinkled in concentration.

Her eyes narrowed and her foot pressed a little harder on the accelerator once they were clear of the traffic around the scene. "That must be the market he was talking about," Mel said, pointing at the E-Zmart's lights, "and there's the alley." She was almost out of the vehicle by the time Jazz parked, the older witch puzzled by the young woman's keenness to get to the alley.

Mel had the backpack on her shoulder as she stepped off the kerb and looked down into the dark alley, eyes taking a moment to adjust after the lights of the market.

"Daniel? Are you here?" she called out, one hand on the corner of the wall, head tilted to one side as she took a step past the phone box.

Comments

Reinforcements arrive

[melodymagic]

"Daniel!" Melody's eyes had adjusted, drawn down to where Daniel's face was, blurred and half obscured by the tusk and shadow cast by the huge body on top of him. Just then the head lifted slightly, the tusk lowering until it was a hair's breadth from Daniel's throat as a groan echoed around the alley.

Before she even had time to think, Melody reacted, her arm stretched out, fingers splayed and palm directed to the carcass as she appeared to brace herself, her head lowering a little as she focused completely on the demon's body. It started to lift, slowly, and as the head rolled again, the tusk certain to have sliced through anything beneath it, the creature was levitated upwards, jerkily at first, but more rapidly as Melody came closer until it was clear of Daniel's body.

Re: Reinforcements arrive

[daniel_stacy]

The vampire winced as the tusk brushed his throat, just close enough to elicit a thin line of blood. “Mel—!” He strained away from it but then the weight was miraculously up and lifting away. He didn’t need to breathe but even a vampire could appreciate the freedom to do it. Daniel didn’t waste any time rolling out of the way and jumping to his feet.

The knife handle was still sticking out of the levitating beast. He reached up, pulled it out of the hide, and stabbed again, this time into the thickly veined neck. Hot blood streamed down his forearm and onto the ground, wetting the pavement like a slaughterhouse floor. “Sorry guy.”

Daniel stepped back and tried to shake the blood off his arm. He seriously contemplated licking it, but that would’ve been weird in mixed company and it didn’t smell like anything he wanted to ingest.

Re: Reinforcements arrive

[melodymagic]

"Melody!"

The older witch's voice echoed around the alley and Mel jumped, her concentration broken and the body dropping instantly to the ground. She spun around and stammered a little.

"I.. he.. Daniel, he was trapped, the tusk was going to go through his throat," she finally managed to get out, straightening a little and lifting her chin as her eyes met the other witch's.

Jazz looked from Melody across to the vampire. She looked him up and down, eyes narrowing as she studied him for a moment. "Guess for you that might've been fatal," she commented, then looked back at Melody. "Clearly you've been practicing, and just as well," she stated, nodding once at her apprentice before looking down at the carcass now sprawled on the ground.

"Is this all that's come through?" she asked Daniel, proceeding to pull some of the small bags from the large one she had slung across her chest.

Re: Reinforcements arrive

[daniel_stacy]

“Tonight, yeah, but they said— mmp!” Daniel had heard the faint lisp of a vampire speaking around its fangs and morphed back into human visage. Golden eyes turned to blue. “They said something came out the other day, some kind of face-ripping ghost thing. So either the world on the other side of there is a real freak show,” he gestured at the hole in the wall, “Or that thing is on a rotation.”

He remembered manners.

“Daniel. I’d shake your hand but…” His fingers waggled, red and sticky from demon blood.

Re: Reinforcements arrive

[melodymagic]

Melody had set down the heavy bag she had on her shoulder as her mentor spoke to Daniel, a little surprised to see how little notice the older woman took of Daniel's morphing from vampire to human. She was about to go and get him something to wipe his hand on when Jazz stepped forward, studying his hand for a moment, then pulled out a cloth from her own bag, and gestured for him to come closer, taking his hand and laying the cloth over it before he had a chance to pull away.

The cloth dissolved, Jazz's frown deepening as she studied the results, sniffing at the wisps of vapourised cloth as they rose up.

"Hmm, not good, but not very conclusive," she muttered, loud enough for both to hear, but already digging around in her bag as she crossed over to where the body lay.

Melody looked at Daniel's hand and then up at his now-human face. "Are you alright?" she asked, knowing that Jazz would be absorbed with whatever she was on the trail of for a few minutes.

Re: Reinforcements arrive

[daniel_stacy]

“Uhhh.” Daniel looked from his hand to the elder witch and back again, a look of pure puzzlement on his features. “Sure. I don’t know what just happened.” He turned the hand to make sure it was normal on both sides. It felt normal. Had that magic trick been about him or the beast that shed the blood? Daniel had a feeling he could be described as not good but inconclusive, too.

He touched the minor cut on his throat. It stung like being cut shaving.

“I didn’t know you could do that. I thought you said it was mostly potions.” Now he was looking at Melody for information. The vampire had next to zero knowledge of magic outside of pop culture and vague historical references.

Re: Reinforcements arrive

[melodymagic]

Melody ducked her head a little, toeing a crack in the paving before answering. "That's my main thing at the store, I like to create them, and perfect them, but Jazz has been on my case about practicing other things," she said, glancing across to where the woman was crouching down next to the body. She looked back at Daniel and lifted a shoulder in a semi-shrug as her hands rubbed up and down her arms which were folded across her body, a shiver running through her as she realised the size of the carcass she had lifted.

"I've been practicing that, because I can use it to get things down off the top shelves and stuff, but I've never done anything like that before," she admitted, having surprised herself at what she'd been able to do, especially now she had had a chance to look. She looked at the cut on his throat. "Uh, do you need something for that? And do you bleed? Or heal?"

Re: Reinforcements arrive

[daniel_stacy]

“It’s fine,” he said, brushing it off. No pulse meant not much in the way of blood flow and he would heal before it did any damage. “I was just thinking I’d either be a pile of dust or a hood ornament if you hadn’t shown up at exactly that second. Thanks.” He reached out and awkwardly clapped Melody on the shoulder blade. Her slight weight meant he likely jolted her a bit.

“Oh.” Daniel remembered the walky-talky and he went to collect it. Keying it up, he said, “This is Daniel. A giant demon with tusks came for a visit… Now dead thanks to some teamwork and the good people at Solomon’s Scrolls. We’re good.”

Rhiannon’s voice answered, “Tusks, huh? That’s new.”

Daniel made a noise in his cheek. “Yeahhhhh.”

Rhiannon said, “Thanks for checking in. Try not to bite anybody.”

Daniel snorted and clipped the walky to his belt.

Re: Reinforcements arrive

[melodymagic]

"Who's that?" Melody asked, indicating the radio, and Jazz's head having turned to hear his answer.

Re: Reinforcements arrive

[daniel_stacy]

“Rhiannon. I’m pretty sure she’s a vampire slayer. I don’t know how she’s connected with the guy who left me a message.” He shrugged.