Angel Song

There was something familiar about her face. Vishous wasn't quite able to place it, and it drove him mad. It was in the shape of her eyes and her fingers. Those two features were whispers of something else he had once known. Or perhaps still knew.

Either way, Vishous didn't a care for the confusion when looking at her.

This female, Joy Grace Prentice, had been placed under his care by orders of Wrath, the King. The lessers had been out lately, and they had been targeting females. Actually, Joy was probably not in too much danger at all, being pretrans, but she was close. She was close enough that he could taste it. The others had been assigned two or three females to “watch over.”

He'd gotten this one. This one with that long dark brown hair, and those big blue eyes, and those long black lashes. She was a musician too, to top everything off. When he'd read that about her, his diamond eyes rolled.

“Wrath, my brother,” he began. “She's not even through her transition. She goes to two or three places. She lives in a house with three other girls. I'm thinking she probably doesn't need any help, true?”

“She knows no vampires.” Wrath sat back in his chair, glaring at Vish through those wraparounds. “She could be in big trouble if she goes through her transition alone, or, God help us, lessers.”

“Then shouldn't Phury or Zsadist help her?” he'd thrown down the file Fritz had carefully put together. Wrath said nothing, just stared silently.

 “Yes, Your Highness.” Vishous murmured, before standing and leaving the meeting.

Everyone else had a rather easy beat. They checked in with the females now and again, had a habit of shadowing them on the very rare occasions that they were out alone, and they made sure the families were keeping track of them... Of course, not every female could be kept under their guard, but then many of them were placed under sehclusion now, weren't they?

The brother knew the true reason he'd been given this assignment. Following Joy kept him out of battle, and Wrath didn't think he was up to fighting. Not since Jane was gone. Well wasn't that lovely of him? Vishous snorted as he leaned against the street light outside Joy's apartment. Didn't he know that kicking ass was about the only way he could get some of this pent up aggression out?

Actually, he had a sneaking suspicion why THIS one, why this girl. She was a single pretrans female. What else could he do but fall in love with her? There was that burning desire in his chest. There was that ache.

And he tamped it down. He choked back every growl when she spoke and laughed with another male. He checked himself from lunging at the bar managers where she played when they leered at her. After all, his job was not to love her. His job was to make sure she didn't get offed.

It was just after dark, and she was skipping down the steps, strapping her guitar over her shoulder while she tried to put a sheaf of music into the battered messenger bag she wore across her body. Her hair was tucked back with a black bandana tonight, and her face was scrubbed clean, the way he liked to see her. Sometimes she painted her face white with those stark black lines around her eyes, drew on a bright red mouth. But no, tonight she looked pure.

“Shit!” she cursed as she tripped over a crack in the sidewalk. Vishous cupped his hand over his mouth so she wouldn't hear him laughing as her music spilled out. “Oh! Damn!” she sighed and dropped awkwardly to her knees to pick up the papers.

“Here,” before he could stop himself, he appeared from the shadows. Her head lifted, and she was already smiling. But once her eyes landed on him, her eyes went wide and the smile faltered. Probably she was looking at his tattoos, he thought bitterly. Of course she would be frightened. She was a child and--

“My you're very tall.” she blurted. Her cheeks went red and she looked like she wanted to kick herself.

“I guess so. Let me help.” he stooped next to her and gathered the music, handing it to her. She grinned, reaching out for him. When their fingers brushed, when he felt her warm, he almost reached out and grabbed her, pulled her body tight to his.

“Thanks.” the tattoos on his face didn't seem to phase her. Or if they did, she at least had the grace to hide it. She struggled up right until Vishous took her elbows and eased her up. A silence passed between them, right on the line of awkward and familiar.

“I have... I have to go.” she stammered, pulling her flesh away from his. “You—thanks. That was nice of you. Have a nice night.” she turned and almost ran down the street then, guitar banging against the small of her back as she darted around the corner.

It figured. He knew she was different, but he couldn't expect too much of her, now could he. With a sigh, Vishous started to slip down the street after her. What dive bar had she found tonight?