If I Was Your Vampire - 2

Chapter Two -- The 9-to-5


Jode's deep violet eyes were half-lidded as he stared at the small silver skull dangling off his bracelet. He had been staring at it for about fifteen minutes solid and he kept finding little chips or dents or scratches here and there, small imperfections. The eye sockets held two fake diamonds, and he noticed that one of them was loose.
He was bored out of his mind. Wes was going over another mind-numbing lecture on the proper way to incapacitate a lycanthrope. A.k.a, a werewolf. It was standard stuff, and she was just going over it for the newbies. He was in the process of counting the silver skulls teeth when something hard whacked him over the head, nearly slamming his face down into the table. "Hey! What the hell?!" He rubbed his sore head, wincing at where he knew he was going to have a bump. He glared up at Wesney, who had just smacked him with her prized cane.
The old demon was a sour witch, and she looked like it. She was thin, almost frail looking, and looked to be about in her late sixties, early seventies. In truth she was over three, maybe four thousand years old. No one was certain. She was small, standing at only four feet and three inches. Wes had wispy, fly-away hair that used to be a shocking shade of retro pink, but was now faded to the color of cotton candy. Her electric blue eyes were still just as bright and vibrant as they had ever been, and just as cold and cunning. Wesney looked frail and old, but she was the meanest, toughest, roughest demon on this side of the planet. Everyone in their right mind feared Wesney, and her cane, which was a long, blackened length of magically reinforced hawthorn with a sapphire the size of Jode's fist at the top of it. That thing could really do some damage. It was a good thing she had hit him lightly.
Wesney's eyes blaze lightning blue fire. "If I see you sitting over here daydreaming and ignoring me one more time, Jodereth, the next one will split your skull. Understood?" The points of her razor teeth were bared as she threatened.
Jode flinched at the use of his full name, but he ground his teeth together, lowered his eyes, and nodded. He paid attention through the rest of "class", though it was all standard stuff, just like before. He hated Mondays. He couldn't believe Wesney was still putting him through this shit. At 98 he was very close to reaching maturity. She should let him out in the real field by now. Stupid witch.
When the class was finally out, Jode slung his backpack over his shoulder and stomped out of the room before the pink haired old demon could hold him back. Like usual, Aaron was waiting just outside the door. He had a worried sort of frown on his face, and the black vampire put his hand on Jode's shoulder to stop him before he was three feet into the hall. Aaron tipped Jode's head down so that he could examine the top of his head, cool fingers brushing through the demon's blue hair. "You really should pay better attention so that she doesn't have to hit you so often." He muttered.
Jode glared at the floor, waiting for Aaron to finish his examination. Then he looked up at the black haired vampire. "You know, you could always eat her for me."
Aaron chuckled and wrapped his arm around Jode's shoulder as they walked down the hall. "She'd probably be too tough to chew."
The demon frowned as he considered that, then sighed. "Eh, you're probably right." He wrapped his own around Aaron's waist. "Let's just get something to eat before we head out to the practice range, okay?"
The vampire nodded and they started to head out to the "parking lot."
The place where they worked was Wesney's home. Oh, the house was normal enough. Three bedrooms, two baths, a nice kitchen... the whole bit. But the basement... well, that had been converted into the C.N.L.E. Creatures of Night Law Enforcement. The C.N.L.E was all about keeping the "creatures of night" in order. It had been founded by Wesney and a lycan named Erich, who had only died twenty years ago. It set the rules for all things unnatural, and it worked so well that it had expanded, from keeping creatures of night in line to keeping all mythical creatures inside the rule book. C.N.L.E was, as said before, stationed in Wesney's "basement", which held a classic secret passage into the underground center of operation. It had originally been just a few offices... but it now had seven floors, including a training school, HQ for C.N.L.E, and the information department was stationed there as well. It connected to what had been Erich’s own underground fortress, which was where most of the serious stuff came into play. The practice range was located there, as was the court house, the containment cells and the lab. Both places were huge.
The "parking lot" consisted of three abandoned lots near Wesney's house, used by those who felt the need to travel in a human fashion. Aaron and Jode were just headed for the elevator when a familiar, freakish voice came over the intercom system.
"Jodereth, report to the main office." It announced this only once, then there came the familiar click of the intercom turning off.
Jode groaned. "What does she want now?" He grumbled.
Aaron sighed, but turned around. "Only one way to find out."
The demon drug his feet the entire way. Curse that old hag.... He was really hungry, too, and they only had about an hour before they had to be at the range, or else Paul would close the doors. Paul was an incubus with a bad habit for doing everything precisely on time. If you weren't to through those doors by 3:00 PM sharp, you were out of luck.
Wesney's main office was huge, but you had very little room to move in it. Between the two dozen or more filing cabinets and two huge desks complete with four cushioned chairs each it was hard to maneuver around things. Wesney was seated behind her desk, a bunch of papers strewn out in front of her. The other desk had been Erich’s, and Wesney had yet to appoint a second in command.
Jode and Aaron both took a seat in front of the desk without a word, knowing that Wesney liked to speak first. It took her a while to even look up. She seemed distracted by her paperwork.
Finally she turned her cold blue eyes on them, and they instantly narrowed. "Aaranon. I think I specifically asked for Jodereth, did I not?" She sighed and waved one hand through the air before she could get an answer. "It matters not. Hell if I care why you two are stuck like glue to each other." She muttered the last bit like she was talking to herself. Then she picked up a sheet of paper and held it up while she looked at Jode. "You'll hit your century mark soon, correct?"
Jode arched a brow slightly, surprised by the subject. "Yeah. Next year. I'm 99 this fall."
Wes nodded. "What have you been eating lately?"
The blue haired boy just shrugged, but Aaron snorted and said, "A shorter list would be what he hasn't been eating."
Jode smacked Aaron on the shoulder, but Wes just waved a hand again. "Yes, yes, that's natural. What I meant was, what have you been craving? More so then usual."
Jode found it an unusual question, and he shrugged, not sure how to answer. "Raw meat more than anything, I suppose."
Wes nodded soberly, her vibrant blue eyes narrowing. "Hm. And human flesh?"
The demon's blue eyes got wide. "No!" he blurted, suddenly seeing where she was going with this. "Look, I'm not like that, okay? I'm not a Class D."
The old woman shook her head. "Wrong. You're half Class D."
"And half Class E!" Jode glared at the old demon. "We both know the higher class genes are more dominant."
Wes's eyes narrowed farther. "And we also both know that male genes are more dominant, and your father was the Class D."
Jode bared his teeth angrily, his hands balling into fists. He felt Aaron lay a cool hand on his shoulder. There were three classes of demon; Class "E"xceptional, Class "B"orderline, and Class "D"angerous. Exceptional demons were those that lived easily amongst humans, blending in and in perfect control of themselves. Borderlines could also co-exist with humans and other races, but they had their moments of weakness. They could cause a good bit of trouble if they took a fancy to. And Class Dangerous demons.... Well, they were the cause for all the human horror films and gory legends, but most of those Hollywood demons looked like tame puppies next to a real Class D. The easiest way to classify a Dangerous demon was by his insatiable craving for human flesh, and they ate nothing else. Jode's father had been a rare form of Class D that had fallen in love with an outstanding Class E. It had only lasted long enough for Jode to happen, though. It wasn't something Jode enjoyed talking about.
The blue haired demon shook his head firmly. "At worse I could make a Class B, but that's it." He almost growled.
Wes narrowed her eyes in doubt, but sighed. She stood up and walked around her desk to stand in front of Jode. She unceremoniously seized the boy's chin in her bony hand and turned his face one way and then the other, using her other hand to push his hair out of the way so she could see the tops of his ears. Then she turned his face up to her. "Bare your teeth."
Jode grimaced at the woman's cold hands, but did as he was told. She spent another two minutes checking his teeth, tilting his head farther back and telling him to open his mouth so that she could see behind his first row. Demons grow a third row of teeth once they hit maturity, and then they gain five more rows that can extend and retract at will over the next thousand years of their life. Wes nodded as she peered inside Jode's mouth. "Your third row is coming in nicely."
She finally released his chin and picked up one of his hands, examining his claw-like nails. "What can you cut with these?"
"So far just soft metals and almost concrete." A fully matured demon's claws could slice through diamond.
Wes nodded. "When you gouge steel, let me know." Then she dropped his hand and returned to her seat behind her desk. "Jode, you're ready for real field work."
Jode's face lit up and he opened his mouth to speak, but Wes raised one hand to silence him. "However." She said sternly. "It will be under severe observation for duration of the next five months until it has become apparent weather or not would will show the signs of a Class D."
The blue haired demon scowled. "But-"
Wes silenced him with a fierce gaze. "This is my decision. Would you rather the observation take place from the holding cells?" Her electric blue eyes flashed and her cotton candy pink hair seemed to stand even farther on end.
Jode frowned, but he shook his head. "No, ma'am." He growled through clenched teeth.
Wesney nodded stiffly once. "I thought not." She then turned her neon eyes on Aaron. "And since you're here Aaron, I might as well tell you that Utalpa has your next investigation statement. You can take Jode on that one. You're both dismissed."
The demon and vampire both nodded and stood at the same time. Aaron wrapped his arm around Jode's shoulders again the moment the office door was closed behind them. He kissed the top of Jode's head affectionately. "Don't let what she said bother you. I know you, love. You'll be fine."
Jode sighed bitterly, leaning against his vampire. "What bugs me is that part of me is scarred she's right." He muttered. He shoved his fists in his pockets and stared at his shoes as he walked. "What if she is right? What if my dad's genes are stronger and I end up a Class D?"
Aaron sighed and squeezed Jode's shoulder gently. "You'll always have me, my angel." He said softly. "And you know I won't anything like that happen to you."
Jode looked up at Aaron and smiled appreciatively.
But in his head, his own voice echoed But there wouldn't be anything you could do about it....