#ch 4

“You said it was urgent?”

“What?” The hobgoblin tilted her head in confusion before looking at her hand and gasping. “Oh, yes! Yes! Very urgent indeed! From your dreadful Aunt Euphemia.”

“It’s not good to speak of the elderly in such a way, Braxa.” Arabella chided gently as she accepted the letter and held it close to her, though she didn’t disagree with her.

Braxa scoffed, “She’s a youngling compared to me! I’m twenty years her senior in human years, so I’ll say what I want about that dreadful woman.”

“Aunt Euphemia isn’t the most pleasant person to be around,” Arabella sighed and was ready to pull her maid inside. “But let’s go inside so I can read the dreadful news.”

“There’s no time, ma’am.” Braxa shook her head and held her hands tightly in her own. “You must leave tonight, or you’ll miss the train.”

“Train?” Arabella blinked this knowledge and glanced at the letter and realized that it was already opened and carefully folded and closed again. Frowning most disapprovingly, she heaved a heavy sigh, “Braxa, did you read my private mail again?”

“The brownies got to it first since the mail arrived so late.” Braxa shrugged, completely unapologetic for her actions. “They were about to hide it into the mousehole in the wall when I came around the corner just in time to snatch it from them.”

It was a likely story. The brownies, while excellent housekeepers when bribed with a proper bowl of cream and occasional cookies, were also notorious for their little pranks. They had on more than one occasion run off with bills and other forms of important correspondence into the walls of the house. Braxa was the only one that could properly scold them and get them to return what they’d stolen.

“You read your letter while I tell the coachmen where we need to go.” Braxa shoved the letter into Arabella’s hands and darted towards the front of the coach.

“‘We’?” Arabella repeated as she grabbed Braxa’s hand, preventing her from darting off.

She shrugged nonchalantly and handed Arabella her handbag.

“Yes ma’am.” Braxa nodded her head vigilantly. “I can’t let a woman of your status and character go to Vandale alone. Now I’ll just be a moment.”

Braxa slipped her hand free and marched over to the coach driver. Arabella couldn’t quite make out what was said, but she heard numbers being thrown at the coachman as Braxa began to haggle a price. Not wanting to waste much more time, Arabella unfolded the letter and quickly read over the contents.

To my disappointing niece,

Upon receiving this letter, you are to leave immediately, do not even consider hesitating a breath longer. You are to join me on a train voyage out West to that dreaded monster filled town Ottilie to see your father. He’s not responded to any of my letters in the last three months and the banks claim the monthly allowance checks he normally sends has bounced. I can only assume that since you’re his dependent you’ve also experienced something similar; if not you must tell me if my younger brother is neglecting me.

I plan to get to the bottom of this myself. I don’t have time to dawdle with lawyers and men of the like who will take too long to provide a proper answer when the entire Edevane estate is at stake.

Before you come to the Edevane Estate, you are to go to Vandale and stop in at the O.H. Pet Shop and acquire the most suitable travel companion that will act as our protection as we travel. You are to pick up a male of an intimidating height, unoffensive face, and lean build so they don’t eat all the provisions along the way.

I’ve already signed and provided a blank check which you are to use to pay. Try to be reasonable and don’t allow the salesman over charge you.

My train car leaves Saturday June 19. If you’re not here, I can only assume that the postal service has yet again failed me in sending my urgent letters in a timely manner, or you are truly a disappointment and have left me to fend for myself.

Euphemia, the head of the Edevane Estate.

Arabella’s lips formed tightened into a displeased frown. Aunt Euphemia was still the same in bitterness, blunt insults and demands. While Arabella wasn’t exactly accomplished like her cousins with secure financial but loveless marriages, being called ‘disappointing’ was a little much, even for Aunt Euphemia. Then again Aunt Euphemia was known for stating her opinions, rude or otherwise, regardless of taking the other person’s feelings into account. The barbed words had admittedly stung and a part of her would almost rather risk traveling West alone, but if this was the letter her father had told her about, she needed to obey her aunt and depart immediately.

She was desperate to get out of her dinner dress and into something much lighter, especially since she was certainly overdressed for the ride to Vandale, but she supposed it would suffice so they could depart quickly. Even if it was late in the evening, Aunt Euphemia wasn’t one to wait for anyone, especially not Arabella. She carefully refolded the letter and the check with a sigh and slipped them into her handbag. She wished this could have waited until morning.

The clacking of Braxa’s heels made Arabella turn and she was more than surprised to see her travel trunk packed and ready for her. She did remember Braxa dragging it behind her when she originally climbed the coach but seeing it in the lantern light somehow solidified the face she was leaving.

“The driver’s got the address, ma’am,” Braxa said with a disapproving look as she bent to pick up the travel trunk. “I already took the liberty of packing your trunk.”

Arabella silently nodded and against her better judgement she climbed back into the coach and Braxa took the seat across from her. As the coach pulled away, she stole a long gaze at her mother’s childhood home she had the sinking feeling that she might not see it again. She prayed to the gods that she would be able to keep it out of Cousin Leroy’s hands.

OCTAVIUS

It was a particularly busy day in the pet shop, which was most strange. On average the bell above the door would only ring three times at most, but today the bell ran an incessant amount. Octavius could only assume that there was some sort of sale going on, especially since the storekeeper had upped the output of the herbal incense puffing in all the holding cells to keep everyone docile. He had kept his eyes closed in a vain attempt to ignore the noxious herbal incense puffing on his face and choking his lungs to keep him weak. He wasn’t sure what was worse, the incense or stares and commentary from the customers. None of them were worthy of note and had nothing interesting in their minds to listen to as they explored the wares.

Whatever the sale was, it must have been good to keep a constant flow of traffic in the shop. Normally the shopkeeper doesn’t allow more than five customers in the shop at a time due to the limited spacing in the shop. After being here long enough Octavius could assume it was that time of year when the Orion Hunters were auctioning off nonhumans to make room for the new stock. Enough of the others were gone by the time there was a lull in business that Octavius could see the Orion Hunters had made a small fortune today.

It made his inner beast more irritable than usual, scratching at his sanity to escape and howling madly as if to seek something out. Staked immobile in his cell he itched to stretch even his fingers or wiggle his toes. His throat burned for just a drop of blood to ease the need for his thirst. The conglomeration of humans traversing the shop only heightened the need for his thirst to be quenched.

The bell chimed for what felt like the twentieth time today as new customers entered the shop to gawk at him and the beast harrumphed in disappointment and curled in on itself back in the recesses of his mind. The gasps and low murmuring grated his nerves, and he wanted nothing more than the usual silence to pretend to sleep. Their commentary on his rarity and steep price was enough to make him open his eyes to cast a glare at them. Their faces blurred together beneath the swampy green haze that shrouded his holding tank and reeked of money and ill intent.

A hand slapped on the glass and the store manager’s chortle guided the people away from Octavius’s holding cell and warned them of his biting habit. Octavius was the center display piece in the store to draw in the customers only to be at such a high price that they were forced to purchase someone else. After all, what was as intriguing as a drow turned vampire? He was a novelty, coincidentally exotically alluring as he was dangerous, and his very nature drew wealthy fools to him like moths to a flame.

The store manager was wise to make his price so incredibly high as Octavius was currently the only one to have returned to the shop twice for the same offense. He had drained his previous owners dry with no regrets and was tracked down by the Orion Hunters before he could escape the city. The fools that purchased him were for their own ill-gotten gain and deserved their deaths. Had they considered keeping him in a gilded cage like some sort of pet, perhaps he would’ve given them the chance to live longer; then again perhaps not.

In his first year of being in the shop, his first owner was some sort of wealthy railway owner who was expanding towards the west of the continent. He had multiple crews working night and day to accomplish this. It was the first time Octavius had ever been on a train, and for how thrilling it was it came to an abysmal end the moment he stepped off the train. His first owner originally wanted Octavius to punish the night workers who were shackle bound moth folk who were too frail to lift a hammer over their heads to pound the large nails into the ground. A moth child had been thrust at his feet, and he immediately turned on the humans, causing an outbreak and freeing most of the moth folk. In his bloodbath he’d turned on his master and quickly found himself staked and back in the shop. He certainly hadn’t enjoyed returning to the shop, but setting some of the moth folk free had been worth it.

It wasn’t even two months later after his return that his second owner hadn’t minded the manager’s warning and bought him for a trade to the red-light district to make up for his deep debt. While the Tiefling madame of the house was most intrigued by him, she had a sharper eye for the danger that followed Octavius and wisely rejected the offer. His owner didn’t take the rejection well and immediately pointed a gun at her. Octavius couldn’t explain the compulsion that had come over him to take the bullet for the madame, but he had and with the pain of the bullet he allowed the beast’s bloodlust to devour his owner. In his bloodlust haze he vaguely heard the madame offer to assist him in his freedom if he killed a few more of the less than wanted customers. He had too readily agreed and caused too big of a scene that he was hauled back to the shop.

He was admittedly all too eager to drain a third just so he could be put on death row and end this miserable life he was forced to live. If the calendar behind the register was correct, it had been a little over five years now since he last had an owner. Given how dutifully the manager worked to draw customers in and then deter them, he was certain he wouldn’t have another owner until a generation had passed so time could forget him. However, the beast within him felt a strange call deep within his soul that was certain he would be purchased today. Octavius knew better than to hold onto a false hope, but with the foot traffic that came in, he found himself rousing every now and then to see if his third owner was arriving today.

As daylight faded for the evening to take over, the flow of customers slowed to a dull pace to the point where the manager muttered something about closing early. Whatever hopes Octavius had faded away with the day. Ready to resign to his fate, Octavius closed his eyes and tried to settle in for the night when there was a sharp pull in his chest. It came so hard and fast he thought the wooden stake had been ripped from his chest. His eyes snapped open in anticipation, but he saw nothing. The beast within him, however, grew restless once more and pawed impatiently at his chest, howling even louder than before.