A Daemon and His Work

Samael smiled, nodding his head. Then, seeing something, he pulled Yuuki to the corner, making it look like they were kissing. A man came behind them and opened the door. Samael stuck his foot out, catching the door with his toe. Rushing Yuuki inside, he shut the door, trying to make it sound normal. The man continued walking, not noticing anything was wrong. Crouching low, motioning for her to do the same, Samael waited until the man had turned a corner at the end of the hallway. Standing up, he took in their surroundings.

The two were in a stark white hallway, fluorescent lights shining overhead. Along the sides of the hall were doors made of black wood and golden doorknobs. Whether they were real or not was up to debate. Bluish white tiles lined the floor, their feet making tapping sounds as they walked. It was utterly silent in the hallway, no sign of life here. It was like being in a hospital, complete with its overly clean smell.

Trying all the doorknobs, Samael found all of them to be locked, the only way forwards being the right-hand turn at the end of the hall. Looking down, he saw another hallway, exactly the same as the last, but with only one door at the end of the hallway. Samael set his jaw. This was it. He led Yuuki forward, reaching the door.
 
Yuuki froze when Samael pulled her into the corner, feeling very odd being so close to him even though they were only pretending and not actually kissing or anything. It made her blush for some reason that she didn't really understand, but thankfully they were soon moving into the door and she didn't have time to think strange thoughts. Her blush vanished and she crouched down, watching the man disappear before she straightened up. The hallway was strange to say the least, and she looked all around as she walked. Her heels clicked too loudly, so she slipped them off and walked barefoot instead, carrying her shoes in one hand as she moved.


"What if there's something to fight on the other side?" she whispered faintly as they rounded the corner of the hallway and looked toward the final door. She followed Samael all the way down the hall and paused with him next to the door, feeling nervous but unwilling to back down now. This could be the answer they were searching for. For all she knew, her mother was going to be on the other side of this door and they could just go home. She took a deep breath to relax, then nodded slightly at him to let him know it was alright to open the door.
 
Nodding, and taking a quick breath, Samael twists the doorknob in his hands, pushing open the door. Inside was a drastically different from the hallway. It was carpeted, a thick burgundy color, the rich fabric suited more for a castle than a club. Windows lined the far wall, two Gothic-style dinosaurs, along with ceiling-high shelves filled with a great many of books. And, in the center of the large room was a giant mahogany desk, behind it sitting a man.

The man was thirty-something, with a little grey in his beard, which was styled to give him a sort of "bad guy" look. Glasses perched on his nose, and he looked down it at the two. "Are you lost?" He asked, reaching one of his hands underneath the desk, probably for security.

"Wait!" Samael said, reaching out his hand. "My master, she has lost something and we believe you might know something."

"Oh." The man says, clearly not excited. "So you're a Daemon. I should get a hunter in here right now." The old man levels his gaze at Samael, but he stops him.

"We know about Press. We caught him inside her house."
 
Looking all around the room with wide eyes, Yuuki was stunned how different it was from the hallway. Her long brown hair fell in her face and she swept it aside while barely paying attention. She was focused on the details of the room - that is, until she saw the man. Immediately she froze and stared at him, having no idea what to say. Luckily Samael spoke up, but a minute later, she realized that she had to say something or the man might still kick them out or worse.


"Please.. The vampire that Press said he was chasing kidnapped my mother. She's very sick and the only family that I have left. I just want to get her home safely.. Please.. I just want to find her.." she pleaded, stepping forward as she looked at the man.
 
The man sighed. "I'm not good with young women crying." He muttered before saying, "If I give you the information you seek, can I not be expected to want something back? Now, what could a guy like me want? Certainly not money, nor power, so what? On your travels to find the one you seek, when you're in the vampire's home, I need you to get a pipe. Intricate, white wood, and on the side, 'Amega agatte kireina nijiga kakatta.' Regardless of whether you find what you're looking for, I still revealed important information, so you are to get the pipe for me." He stood up. "The vampire you are looking for goes by the name 'Kale Gunter.' He lives in the hotel down the street, but has grown wise to my doings, and hasn't stayed there for several days. His stuff is still there, though. You might find something there. Here's his house key." The man throws a key ring to Samael, who catches it.

"That's all I know. Now, Daemon, I must ask you to get your filthy hide off my property or I will call the police."
 
Yuuki listened closely as the man described the item that he wanted. Already she had the business card and the club flyer in her purse, along with a few dollars. The pipe would still be able to fit easily. There was no way that she'd remember what it was supposed to have on the side, but it shouldn't be too hard to find. How many people had more than one white wooden pipe these days? She just nodded and concentrated on the information that he began to pour out. Kale Gunter. She committed the name to memory and listened as he told them about the hotel. Not needing to be told twice to leave, she nodded again.


"Thank you. We'll be back," she promised, leading Samael back out and running down the hallway. Once they were back in the main part of the club, she pulled her shoes back on. "Okay, let's get out of here," she said, dodging all of the kissing couples and circling around the outside of the dancing crowd. Soon they were out in the fresh air again and she turned to Samael. "Which way did he say to that hotel?" she asked, glancing each way down the street.
 
"That prejudiced prick only said down the street." Samael said. He was slightly amazed at how much he reacted to the man's comment even though it was his heritage that caused the vampires to want to use his powers. Samael didn't normally react to people's comments, but maybe being told off like that by a human was what had set him off. Holding the key ring in his hands, he looked at the engraving. "What does it say?" He asks, trying not to make it obvious that he couldn't read.
 
Taking the keyring curiously, Yuuki examined the engraving. It was hard to make out until she tilted it and the streetlight caught it just right. She recognized the symbol, a curvy Z with some scrollwork.


"The Zarrock Hotel. I know this place. It looks fancy on the outside but everybody knows that all of the tenants are sketchy. I heard it's full of drug dealers and murderers. I can't say it's been on my list of places I want to visit," she admitted, then sighed and put the key in her purse. "Come on, it's not far from here," she said, tilting her head to the right and starting to walk. In less than five minutes, they were standing in front of the hotel they needed.


It was only four stories high, with a Victorian look to it. Some may pass it off as elegant, but if you looked closely, the building was in obvious disrepair. There was no doorman or security system, which was good for now - they could just walk in and find the room.


"Alright, let's go in. It's 329 according to the keyring, so we'll have to go up to the third floor to find this place."
 
Samael nodded, following her inside. It was certainly someplace he wouldn't have wanted to visit either, but he had his Contract. There was no elevator and they had to walk up the three flights of stairs. Several people gave them passing glances, probably wondering why two teenagers were in a place like this, but no one stopped them.

Looking towards the left side of the hallway, Samael slowly walked down its length, pretending to know what the squiggly lines meant, hoping that Yuuki would know when to stop him.
 
Yuuki scanned the right side of the hallway once they made it up the stairs, pausing as she saw the right one. She grabbed Samael's arm to stop him, not even thinking about the fact that he was going to walk by and how odd that was. Reaching in her purse, she pulled out the key and unlocked the door. Not hesitating, she stepped in and pulled him in as well, then shut and locked the door behind them before flicking the light on. The place was obviously deserted since it was stuffy and there were no dirty dishes or anything, but the man had been right. All of the stuff was still here. Clothes, furniture, everything.


"Okay, let's split up and search. If you find the pipe, let me know so we can get out of here," she said to Samael, moving into the living room area and scanning her eyes over the shelves quickly to see if anything was even white in here. She saw a small box that looked promising and climbed up on a little table to reach it. It turned out to be holding a necklace on black satin lining. The stone was a bright red, cut in a heart shape and surrounded by small, sparkling diamonds. It hung from a long silver chain, and she found herself fascinated as she stared at the stone. The table suddenly creaking made her jump and she nearly dropped it, not realizing how entranced she had been. She put the box in her purse absently, hoping that maybe this thing was valuable in case she needed a bribe later. The vampire deserved it for kidnapping, she reasoned.


"Hmm.." she mused, getting down from the table and looking through drawers once she didn't see the pipe on any of the shelves.
 
Samael made his way into what seemed like a bedroom, an unsheeted bed lying dejected in the corner. Above it were shelves nailed to the wall, containing a variety of things. On the top one, after bringing down a load of dust, he was able to get a box down. Opening it, he found a passport and an account book. The vampire really had left in a hurry. Taking both, he searched the second shelf, finding an expensive looking watch and an alarm clock. On the third shelf, he found what he was looking for, a white wood pipe.

Going back into the main room, he shows what he found, holding up the book, passport, and immaculate pipe. "I found it, plus something that might help us in finding your mother."
 
Flipping through a bunch of tapes, Yuuki was about to give up when Samael came out and announced that he had found it. She looked up and smiled, tucking the pipe carefully in her purse. They would have to return it to the man after tracking down the vampire - if they survived. She frowned a bit at the thought and took the book from him with interest. Flipping it open, she scanned the entries and realized that it was a ledger. She sat down slowly and flipped to the most recent entries. At first there was nothing really interesting, but then she found an entry to a real estate company.. out of the country. She blinked and checked the passport - they matched. Why had he left the country?


"Interesting.. It looks like he bought property outside the country very recently, but the fact that he left his passport here means that he hasn't gone there yet. Maybe he has foreign vampire friends or something, or went to meet somebody else," she guessed, having no idea. Scanning further into the ledger, she found that regular rent payments were being made on an old warehouse down in the harbor, near the docks. That'd be a perfect place to hide, she realized. "I think I know where they are," she announced with a smile, then froze as she heard a key scraping in the lock.
 
Hearing the key go into the lock, Samael's eyes grow wide. Panicking, he rushes her into a closet, trying to hide her amongst the musty clothes, so that he would be the only the vampire would find. He held his breath as he heard the door open, and footsteps were to be heard nearby. The footfalls were heavy, as if whoever came inside was carrying a large package. If the vampire went into the bedroom, he'd smell the kicked up dust, see it still floating down through the air. He'd know that someone was in his house, and might figure out that they were still there.
 
Yuuki held her breath as she crouched down in the closet, though she really wanted to yell at Samael for not hiding with her. She began racking her brain for a way out of this situation, but she couldn't come up with anything. The door swung open with a creak and she tried to peer under the door to see, but it was hopeless. She could hear footsteps but had no idea if it was the vampire or somebody else. Shifting her weight quietly, she leaned in close to the closet door and listened intently. For a few seconds she didn't hear anything, so she thought that perhaps the person had left and Samael was hiding just to be sure.


"S-" she began to whisper, then thought better of it. If the coast was clear, he'd get her. She bit her lower lip anxiously and sat back to wait just as a hand grabbed her arm. Yelping in alarm, she quickly left the closet and glanced back. It had only been a shoe falling on her arm. She realized her error too late and looked up as a shadow crossed hers.
 
The closet door flew open, a male vampire on the other side. Grabbing Samael by the collar, shouting at and shaking him, he doesn't see Yuuki at first. Finally, he said, "I should kill you, boy. Who isn't to say I will, just kill you right now?" He said, throwing Samael from him. The boy landed on the floor, banging his head on the floor. As the vampire was moving to start kicking him, he saw Yuuki in the corner of the closet. "Brought a friend, did you? Don't worry, I'll take care of her after I'm finished with you." He hissed.
 
"No!" Yuuki burst out before she could restrain herself. She moved between the vampire and Samael, giving the unfamiliar man a glare as she put her hands on her hips. "I refuse to let you kill him. I'm not here to argue with you, I'm here for my mother! Now tell me where she is," she demanded fiercely, not really thinking about the fact that she was scolding a vampire that could easily refuse.
 
The vampire struck Yuuki across the face. Rage filled Samael, and he forced himself to his feet. "Don't you dare touch her!" He shouted, pushing against the vampire. He could take a beating, but if anyone was to touch someone he cared for, he was bound to start fighting back. Balling up his fists, he waited for the vampire to start hitting him, bracing himself.
 
Yuuki fell to her hands and knees at the force of the hit, her cheek stinging badly. She closed her eyes and shook her head, forcing the pain away. Later there would be plenty of time to sit and whine about her cheek hurting. Right now she had more imporant things to do - like finding her mother and keeping Samael from dying. She rose to her feet just as Samael balled up his fists. The vampire moved as if getting ready to punch Samael in the gut and she raised a hand. In hindsight, not the best idea since she had no hopes of stopping it. However, instead of getting hit in Samael's place, something strange happened. The vampire was hurled backward into the wall, smashing shelves.


She blinked and stared at the vampire, then looked down at her hand. Not taking time to question it, she grabbed Samael's arm and pulled him along as she ran from the rooms. She raced down the hallway to the stairs, figuring they could make a plan once they were out and safe.
 
Samael blinked in confusion as the vampire flew away into the wall. He hadn't done that, had he? He didn't think so. Following Yuuki down the halls and stairs, he could feel her panic. "I could've taken him." Samael mutters, knowing that it wasn't entirely the truth. He didn't really know. What he really felt bad about was Yuuki getting hurt, and he was ready to hit the first thing that looked at him odd. Shaking away the anger, he came back to now. The vampire didn't appear to be following them, at least not now.
 
"I know you could've. You're the one who tossed him like a ragdoll after all," Yuuki assured him as they got outside, though internally she knew that she was just trying to make herself feel better. She had felt a thrill of power for just a second back there, as if she had been the one who.. But that was impossible. Samael was the weird one, the nonhuman. She wasn't like that, it just didn't make sense. Plus, wasn't that sort of thing supposed to be hereditary? It was in all of the books she'd read. Her mother was definitely human. Maybe she was just imaginging things, she thought, nodding to herself anxiously.


"Okay, well now we know where the vampire is. All we have to do is beat him to the place I was telling you about before he showed up. He's paying rent on a warehouse down by the water. Those things are big and heavily locked. It'd be a perfect place to hide somebody if you wanted to keep a prisoner," she said as she moved down the sidewalk with him. She refused to think of her mother as a hostage, not wanting to think about what might happen if they managed to get a hold of Samael. Pausing as they waited to cross a street, she turned and looked up at him. "Are you okay?"
 
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