#etxrnaleclipse

Once again The Black Ghost had sucked a battery completely of its juice. Driving past a graveyard never helped that issue, but sometimes, like today, it couldn't be helped. Henry had no idea where the nearest garage was and had to spend some time looking it up on his phone with a shitty signal, until he finally found the place he needed.

He'd called, spoken to a polite young sounding man on the other end, and requested a tow. He was sitting on the trunk of his car when the truck appeared, having found him even with Henry's bad directions in a town he'd never been to. New York was a big place, and even Henry hadn't traversed the whole state yet.

He hoped down when the vehicle came to a stop and young blond was behind the wheel. "Hi," Henry said as he approached, "I'm so glad you were able to find me, I hope it's not too far out of your way?"

After months of planning which included coordinating schedules, picking a place, rentals and all that jazz, they were finally enjoying their first vacation together. And so far everything has gone by smoothly. Milo was a bit scared of how things could unfold during this time —they lived on opposite sides of the country and saw one another for a couple of days every certain amount of time. That level of coexistence was different from spending 24/7 together for two entire weeks in a different place for both, so he feared they could get into an argument that would ruin their vacations completely. 

Apart from some minor disagreements, they were getting along just fine. There wasn’t much energy for anything anyways. Once they reached the hotel room, all they wanted to do was crash in the bed after how tired they were returning from visiting all the touristy spots in New Orleans. They had already seen every corner of The French Quarter, tried every local food, visited jazz bars and The Botanical Garden for Milo’s excitement. Now he was ready for a more outdoor adventure. 

It took some convincing to get Dex on board for camping, especially because the spot was far from where they were staying. Milo wanted a real camping experience in the woods, with a tent like he used to have when he was a kid and not some cabins with amenities. It was just a two night adventure with a four hour drive towards the Kisatchie National Forest, so he rented a car for it and prepared all the stuff they needed.

when  dex  wakes  up  this  morning,  he'll  find  cian's  side  of  the  bed  empty.  the  shell  necklace  nemesis  had  blessed  for  him  is  no  longer  on  the  nightstand,  the  closet  door  is  slightly  ajar  and  a  letter's  placed  on  top  of  cian's  pilllow. 

it  reads… 

@etxrnaleclipse

Each day, it became easier to justify and lessen the remorse. To graze if you will. He wasn’t a total animal, didn’t play with his food like other clan members would. Kirik saw himself a farmer tending to chickens. Maybe he could love or care for one, but slaughter was inevitable.

What really was the harm in a pleasant feed every other month or so? It gave his host a dose of venom, calming them like nothing else. Made them more suggestible. Kirik could shape their reality, so when he came for them again, the fear would slowly dissipate. That was what his sire had explained, always slow and steady. The price to pay for anything more was another accident, like Zoella.

@etxrnaleclipse

The string lights over the reception tent swayed gently in the evening breeze, casting soft gold across the dance floor. Noah stood near the bar, the stem of his wine glass pinched between his fingers a little too tightly. His - their- daughter, was laughing in the middle of the crowd, radiant in white.

Noah had seen Soraia across the room three times already tonight. Each time his stomach had flipped like he was still twenty-eight, and not fifty with a greying beard. The wine had done its work; four glasses, maybe five. Enough to push him forward.

“Soraia.” Noah swallowed, then offered a small, crooked smile. He glanced toward their daughter, then back to her. “Look at her. We did… we did a pretty damn good job, didn’t we? She’s happy. She’s kind. She’s smarter than both of us combined... When I look at the woman she became, I can’t help thinking we must’ve done something right. Together.”

The trunk flew open with a metal shriek. Outside, the dessert lay like a graveyard without headstones. A grim promise veiled in the heat haze. Suddenly, rough hands grabbed Pedro by the collar. The man dragged him out as if he was rubbish, letting his head knock the edge on the way down. The man didn't flinch, not even when he saw Pedro's blood mixing with sand. "Up," he growled, kicking the rookie detective in the ribs when he didn't move fast enough for his liking. He then paced once, twice, before he crouched next to Pedro and grabbed him roughly by the jaw.

Tuesday at four in the afternoon was probably not the time of day anyone expected to find someone in a church. That was probably why Josephine had chosen the time of day. She would admit she was curious about the young pastor who had been so recently in the news. He was different from Wicks- that was obvious. She wasn't sure who had been whispering about the young woman and her newly appeared inn- had she already been in town more then a year? - but one service in Wick's church was all she wanted to sit through. He certainly hadn't liked the ofreda she built on Dios de Los Muertos. Or her fire dancing.

So Jo was cautious. Once bitten twice shy- and she had been bitten more then once. Jud seemed kind but 'seemed' was so often the word.

But it was the worse day of the year. And on the worse day of the year you went to church. She lit four candles: Luke, Victor, Neal then her mother. It wasn't the day for her mother's candle but lighting candles for her boys and not her mother felt rude in an odd way.

She heard a noise and turned, surprised to see the young priest behind her. Had he been watching or just walked in?