The voice came from a scantily clad woman with a young appearance who was holding a red-haired male up by his ankle, watching his head dangle inches from the ground. Her lucullan lips curled lightly into an almost feline smirk, her free hand on her hip with a brow cocked every so mildly in slight amusement. The man was crying and thrashing around, begging for the Viking Vampire Vixen to release him. “No! No, I don't!”, he screeched, the scent of fresh urine beginning to float into the air, the aroma wafting ever so gently under her nose. She gave a shiver and dropped him to the ground, moving so fast that she was merely a blur. He tried to get away but he was soon looking up mile long ivory legs, pinned to the ground by stilettos pressed against his chest. “Dear. There's no use lying to me. I already know that you do owe him money. I just really would prefer it that you admit to your wrong before we go any further. Ah – But don't think that you can stall me until someone comes by and hears your pathetic and irritating whines by continuing to lie. You have exactly three seconds to concede before I simply say fuck it and eat you. It will be drawn out and dreadfully painful for you – I'm going to literally eat you. Flesh and all.” Her grin had shifted to that of a cruel nature, her tongue gliding over her freshly glossed lips.
“I do! I do! Alright – I'm sorry! I tried to get the money on time but I couldn't! I didn't even mean to borrow any money, but it's Italy...and. Y'know! Live it up! When in Rome.” He sobbed uncontrollably, his squeaky and too-thick Jersey accent assaulting her ears as much as the scent of his urine was assaulting her olfactory senses. She wrinkled her nose delicately and sighed. “Well – If you can't pay it off...You'll have to work it off.” She gave a coy smile and pulled him up by the back of his shirt, yanking him close to her, though making sure he didn't press his lower body against her. “I have a friend. Her name is Isis. She's a Spaniard, a bit young. Perhaps two or three hundred years old. A child, really. But she has this feminist Coven. It's quite lovely – I'm sure she'd pay quite a bit for another bitch to slap around. It's sad that you have such great size but no spine to back it up. No worries – You won't be needing it there.” She snickered and drove her knee into his groin, watching him roll in the grass and wallow in pain, begging her not to do it. “I have children and a wife! You can't take me from th-umph!”
Astrid delivered a kick to his stomach, watching him sail ten feet away and slam into the trunk of a tree, cutting him off before he finished his sentence. “Maybe you should have thought about your precious family before you borrowed fifty thousand dollars to pay for Cupid's itch and herpes. Tell me – Were the hookers worth it, 'Mikey J'?”
She taunted him with a melodious purr, a light giggle escaping past her lips. She walked over to him slowly, pushing a few platinum blonde locks from her face. “Don't answer that. Either you're going to lie and it's going to piss me off or you're going to be honest and that's going to piss me off...I don't like you.” She sighed and heaved the human over her shoulder before leaping up and over the fence, taking off at high speeds through the forestry that soon lead to a back road. She wasn't running for too long before she came upon a beautiful plantation style mansion, approaching it from the side before moving towards the front and knocking on the door. The person who answered the door was a little girl who looked no more than twelve or thirteen years old. She gave a sweet smile, rocking back and forth on her heels as she played with the ruffles of her frilly violet southern belle dress. “Oooh! Hiya, Astrid! What'cha got there?” The little girl shuffled some, peeking to see the man heaved over the Viking's shoulder, shivering from fear and the chill he had caught from her speed. “It's a gift, really. Or – Not much of a gift. More of an offer.” She returned the smile as the “child” lit up, clapping her tiny hands. “He reeks of fear and piss! Ha! He's a wetter.” The little one squealed more as she jumped up and down. “I simply adore the ones that wet themselves! It's so hilarious! I'll give you seventy-five large for 'im.” The little one's fangs finally slid out as she practically shivered with excitement.
“Oh, Isis. That's just so sweet. Instead of paying me all at once, why don't you just pay me over the course of a few months? Mikey's been a really naughty boy.” Astrid smirked, throwing him onto the porch, watching as he tried to scramble away, only to be caught by Isis. “Ohh! Lita's just going to love him! He's O positively pathetic!” Her giggle was hauntingly adorable as she grabbed him by the hair to look him in the eyes. “Do we have an accord?” Astrid tilted her head, her icy blue eyes watching as Isis played with her future meal. The little one was gone in a flash and soon returned with a stack of cash. “Here's five large up front! Thanks Astrid!” Astrid gave a light curtsy, tucking the money between her breasts after folding it in half. Isis was soon dragging Mikey into the house by the ankle, doing it painstakingly slow just to freak him out more. It was working because he was screaming like a little girl. It made Astrid smile as she whipped out her phone and sent out a text to Cheveyo before taking off, feeling a shiver go down her spine. She had damp urine on her shoulder...Disgusting.
Just as quick as she had arrived, she was gone. It was a long drive from Milan back to Rose City. Ah, Citta Rosa was a small city compared to the other, more well-known parts of Italy. But it was beautiful and peaceful. At least for the most part. What amazed her was that her Fae companion, Cheveyo, was able to make so much money in the small place. But Milan wasn't too far away and he made a small fortune preying on the tourists like poor Mikey. Cheveyo had extended the man a fifty thousand dollar loan and the man hadn't thought to pay it back. Cheveyo wasn't really intimidating. Physically, he was quite attractive and well-built. But anyone who spent three seconds with him knew he wasn't a fighter. He didn't need to be. Astrid was not self-conscious about using Cheveyo as a source of income, acting as his muscle when people tried to skip town on him. She liked to have nice things and they would not stand between she and a new Gucci purse. It was the perfect partnership and the close bond they had tied in with it being only two of them made it even easier. She knew Chev wasn't going to fuck her over on her cut and Chev wasn't worried that she was going to demand more than she deserved. They had just over two centuries worth of loyalty between them.
A light smile curved on her lips as she came to a halt on the side of the road to see an attractive young man in a business suit pull over just ahead of her. “You look like you could use a lift!” The Faerie called out with a light smirk playing on his lips, watching as Astrid mosied over to the green ferrari and slid into the passenger's seat. “What happened to the Bugatti?” Astrid and Cheveyo had arrived only hours earlier to spend the morning collecting money from clients when she insisted that he wait for her while she took a rather reluctant Mikey out into the forest for a quick chat. “The salesmen in Italy are very convincing when the pitch.”, he laughed before peeling out. They would have met in the city, but Astrid had told him to meet her near Isis' within an hour. She was too lazy to run back to Milan. They now headed out to their new Coven in Rose City, Astrid whipping out her phone and sending a text to Genevieve.
Had business to conduct; Cheveyo and I will meet you and the others at Casa de Lupi Luna soon. ETA is three hours.
She didn't mention what kind of business it was because it was none of Ginny's business. Astrid went through great lengths to keep her age, her powers, and Cheveyo's species a secret for the past twenty years. She grew irate with people looking to her in a Coven to be the muscle when things weren't going their way and she didn't like the idea of other Vampires tasting her Cheveyo. They weren't a couple, no. But he was hers. Plain and simple. He was all she had left. She had Basil... Her first and only progeny. He was like a son to her. But Örlög had taken him away as punishment for not sticking by her Maker and original Coven when the true death was courting them. That's why she stayed with this little Coven. To hunt down her son's killer and make up for that which she had done wrong, clearing her conscience and putting her at ease. For once she had helped this Coven in their time of need, she would enter Valhalla when and if the day of her true death came.
Too bad there were only two people in the Coven she could stand to hold conversation with.
Alywin and Zakhar were the only ones she truly could say she actually liked within the Coven. She would probably like Ginny if she didn't brush the girl off so often. But she didn't want to form an attachment and Ginny was the kind of girl that people attached themselves to. She didn't want to spend too much time with Mariette either. It wasn't anything personal; She had some form of admiration and respect for the younger Vampire. But she was