A City of Mystery

Flora leaned on the boy kissing his neck. She stared into his eyes and he became stuck on her. She knew he would do as she said and it made her smile. Nolita was in front of him and Marigold on his other side. We were all hungry. We wanted the guys energy. He was strong and healthy which made it great for them. Little by little we all took his energy. We each took a turn. But he was so good they couldn’t stop. When they looked down he was lifeless and pale. What have we done?! He was a football player and that’s what attracted them to begin with. Looking at him now they couldn’t believe their eyes. We looked at each other in horror. Flora's eyes went back to the body. "Why? Why did you do this?" She swore she heard him speak. His lifeless hand went to her neck. "You will pay" the boy said with hatred. "NO!"
Flora woke up sweating and screaming. She put her face in her hands. "Will I always be haunted by this dream?" She was in her bed. Her, Nolita and Marigold lived together in their new home. It was small but cute and neat. They were in the human world. Because of the curse placed upon them they were forced to stay in the human world. When they fed on a human the black rose turned red. They didn’t know what would happen if it turned fully red but it hasn’t happened.....yet. They had to find three willing guys to fall in love with them. No compulsion no nothing just love. Flora sighed. "As if anyone would fall in love with us. We are practically demons. The moment they find out what we are they would leave." Flora laid back putting the pillow on her face. I have to do this. I cant just leave Nolita and Marigold alone. Where are they any way? Flora got up and took a shower. She took off her clothing and got in. The hot water on her body made her warm and relaxed. She wanted to forget everything, at least for a minute. After a while she got out and put clothing. She had white knee high socks and a cute white short sleeve turtle neck shirt and a cute short blue skirt. She looked out the window observing the humans. "What would today bring, I wonder."

"I need that crate quickly brought into the back, load up the cooler with half of it put the other half in the store room. Hey hey careful with that its glass!"
Daniel sighed as he looked over the clipboard in his hand for the hundreth time today. Being manager for his cousin's club "Under 21" was pretty much an easy job at night but it was the setup that required most work. It would be a busy night today, as always, and looking at his watch they were a bit behind schedule, as always.
"Hey Danny where are those server girls?" One of the workers called out from the side entrance
"Relax Jack you know they have to come from school, they should be here in an hour. I'm sure your flirting can wait that long you lech. Now hurry up and get the bar set up. You and Jill are pulling the first shift."
"Alright alright, and when are you going to stop with that stupid 'Jack and Jill' routine?"
"When it stops bugging you." Daniel turned away and walked to the big delivery truck to help unload. He hopped up and grabbed a crate of soda cans. He lifted the crate onto his shoulder and grabbed a bag of Ice with his other hand. He brought the stuff inside and put them where they needed to go.
"Hey Jill is Gary or Ramirez here yet? Busy time is going to start soon so where are our bouncers?" He asked the female worker by the bar.
"Ramirez is, he's helping Ceaser with his equipment. I think Gary should be here soon." She said as she cleaned some of the glass cups. she was popular with the guy customers because of her short orange hair and her chest size. She also had enough curves to make even Daniel have to adjust his collar...which he did now.
"Speaking of Ceaser, is he sure he want's to get back to Dj so quickly after last weekend's fiasco?"
"Yeah he says it'll take a whole lot more than some horny dumbass teenage guys to scare him off."
Daniel grinned. "Right well he is the best we've got." His pocket started to vibrate and play a normal ringtone as his cell phone went off. "It's the boss better take it."
"Right you better." Jill smiled back at him.
Daniel grinned nervously, hating himself for not having much of an immunity to women, and walked away picking up the call. "Hello?"
"Cuz! How you doing?" It was Allen, his cousin and legal guardian...and boss.
"Hey boss, the club is fine we are a bit behind schedule but we'll pull through like we always do."
"That's good to hear but I asked how YOU were doing not the club man."
"Me? Well I'm fine I guess, can't complain." Daniel wallked out to the front of the Club and looked up at the sky as the sun began to set. "Just some strange feeling you know?"

Marigold awoke with a start and glanced about quietly before relaxing considerably. She slowly got out of bed her red hair brushing over her bare shoulders. Her bright blue eyes turned to the mirror on the far wall seeing a reflection of themselves staring back at them. She knew how beautiful she was but being unbiased towards herself she looked tired. The weeks, months, and minutes after that incident had worn her down. To any other person around her she might have seemed fine but when she was alone she, herself, could tell the difference. She raised her hand as if to touch the mirror then let it drop to her side. Marigold went over to her closet and pulled out a robe and towel to go take a shower.

She noticed that Flora was awake but didn't say anything figuring she would say good morning later when they were together. She stepped into the bathroom and stripped down to nothing taking a shower routinely. Everything was routine these days. She fingered the necklace dangling from her neck and sighed watching the steamy water wash over the petals. She shook her head and finished up the shower hurriedly moving back into her room to get dressed. She put on her striped black polo with her black skirt, straightening out the edges. She then grabbed her vest and slipped it on over the shirt giving herself a sophisticated yet casual appearance. Marigold smiled testing her emotions before chuckling and grabbing the ribboned bells off her dresser. She tied the blue string into her hair near her ear and turned towards the door enjoying the tinkle of the bells.

She walked out into the living room and began making some tea that wouldn't be too strong for anyone in the house in case they wanted some. The black liquid spilled into the pot eagerly as if ready to fill Marigold with energy for the morning. "Ah. This is going to be a great day." Marigold mumbled softly. She took her cup then yelling out to the others if they were in the house. "Good Morning! I'll be outside." She pranced out the back door and bee lined toward the garden she had raised so tenderly. Scanning her flowers while taking a sip of coffee she smiled brightly. "Hello, my darling flowers. I hope you guys are well. Today's the day without water but you get some tomorrow. Be expecting it." She spoke to the flowers. She figured it would make them less lonely and would make them bloom even more if they felt happy. She glanced towards the other house and wondered what was going on inside the other houses. She has to think that maybe every other house was more routine otherwise she would die of boredom.

Flora touched her necklace as she watched the humans. "Will anyone love us after they know everything?" She sighed. There was a brush by her bed so she decided to brush her hair. She sat by the window brushing her hair. A voice came from down stairs and it was Marigold. "She must be going to tend the Garden." Flora smiled at that because they only had a garden because Marigold insisted we needed one. Flora gingerly put her fingers through her hair and then got up. She headed down stairs and almost fell but grabbed onto something near her. "I must be clumsy today." She fixed her skirt and then went down. She looked outside seeing Marigold. "Marie where is Nolita?!" She yelled out hoping Marigold would hear her. She didn’t wait for an answer and just looked around the kitchen. No one was there but she saw tea. Flora smiled at that because she really didn’t like tea. Marigold did, so when ever she made it Flora would drink it; but only if Marie made it. She sat down thinking and waiting. She wanted to tell the others about today's objective. They were going to go to "Under 21" a club that many people went to. She knew she would meet a lot of people. Am I doing the right thing? Flora put her head on the kitchen table and closed her eyes to think.

Running. Shadows flitting past. Three flashes-gunfire. There was no sound, but he knew someone had just screamed. Still running, a dark alley. Rounding the corner. Seeing the target, realising it was cornered, realising it was... an eight year old girl. Raising the gun, taking aim. He knew it was a demon, and that he had to kill it. His finger tightening on the trigger, his hesitation. The minutes ticking by. Then, suddenly, the target running past. Escaping. Him following. It was in the street now. Him catching up with it in time to... in time to watch it snap a woman's neck. In time to see the grin of pure evil on the child's face as it continued to run.

Gabriel awoke with a start. It was always that dream, every single night, over and over again. Only it wasn't an actual dream, it was a memory. One he could never have buried even if he'd wanted to. The only thing about it that somewhat bothered him was that in the dream, the only sound was his own breathing. It was almost like a kind of silent horror film. Sitting up slowly he reached over for his glasses, taking a quick swig of water from a glass next to his bed. Once he had them on, he took out his iPod, and played the only video on it.

It had clearly been taken with a poor quality camera, but you could still make out a young girl skipping away as the woman she was just with collapsed lifelessly. Just as she's about to go off camera there's a gunshot, and a figure in a purple and black coat strides into frame. The revolver in his hand bucks a second time, and the girl collapses. After a minute or so the man turns and strides away, but the girl, bleeding profusely, simply gets up and skips off as though nothing had happened. 

That demon had killed two more people that night because of his incompetence. Firstly, he had hesitated, a bad enough crime in itself, and secondly, he had used the wrong ammunition. Silver bullets on a demon, had he been mad? Sighing heavily, he stood up, tucking the iPod back into that same purple and black overcoat. Luckily he now had the only copy of that video, though it was probably up on YouTube somewhere that he didn't know about. Thanks to events like that, it was becoming harder and harder for the Organisation to remain hidden. 

Crossing over to the small but functional bathroom, he showered quickly before putting in his purple contacts, which mask the natural green of his eyes. He then proceeded to get dressed, tucking the revolver inside of his coat. All the while he kept telling himself that he will not fail this time, that there will be no mistakes. He cannot afford any. His morning routine over, he sat down on the bed to enjoy breakfast- yesterday's leftover pizza. Whilst happily munching away on cold Pepperoni he considers his moves for the day. Priority definitely went to visiting the local under 21s club. Considering the age the victim had been, his killer had probably been of a similar age. Secondary priority went to checking out the local neighbourhood, looking for anyone or anything suspicious. Well, that club was probably going to be playing a lot of rubbish music, and the best way to prepare was with good music. Whacking the iPod to full volume, he grinned as the opening riffs to Bolt Thrower's 'The IVth Crusade' came on, finishing his second slice in order to start singing (screaming) along...

A soft humming could be heard as Nolita started about primping herself, after waking up quite late. Usually she woke up when everyone else did, but today she had laid there in bed, regretting and thinking, brooding over the fact that she was disowned, a killer, and that her two best friends were in it with her. A wave of guilt had overcome her when she found herself glad that she did not have to face this outcast curse alone however, and she had spent much time in front of the mirror glaring at her black rose necklace, the damned thing.

She finished her look off, sour expression and all, with an outfit that would appear strange to anyone who dressed in regular clothes, Nolita like the frilly dresses though, and she was a girl so why not? She tried to change her expression before she walked out of her room, but instead ended up looking pained and focused.

“Morning! Good day we’re having right?” She said to Flora as she caught sight of her. “Did you eat yet? I’ve got to find you and Marigold cute boys to fall in ‘love’ with today eh? So I guess it needs strength or something, so breakfast…oh I just sound weird, sorry. Truth is I was brooding all last night, I couldn’t sleep. Did you do any better? Lie and say you did, it’ll cheer me up to know at least one person was ok.” Nolita opened the fridge and pulled out a banana, for some strange reason she was addicted to the yellow fruit, and had at least two a day.

“But we should be able to find someone to fall for you and Mari right? I mean you two are nice and whatnot.” For an angelic face, Nolita was rather uncouth.

Flora looked up at smile. "Nolita breath." She went to her friend and gave her a good morning hug. "We all had a bad night but tomorrow will be better. I have the perfect place for us to go. And stop saying that jus me and Marie will get a guy." She took Nolita's hand and twirled her around as if dancing. "Your the beauty of the ball" she said smiling. "We will be going to a fantastic club called "Under 21". We will surely meet someone." Flora went to the door motioning for Marigold to come inside. "I heard a lot of people go there. It would be good to just check it out."

Marigold saw Flora motion her inside and sighed taking the last sip of her coffee with a sad expression. She had been enjoying that warm cup very well and now it was all gone. Lost to her lush lips that sucked it dry. Just like how she had sucked that boy dry. She frowned her lips turning up in a sneer before she realized it and erased the horrid expression. "Relax." She muttered to herself. She looked down to her flowers once more. "I will be see you lovely daisies later. I love you guys." She forced a smile then turned and walked back to the house silently.

The first few seconds she came inside she noticed several things. Nolita looked happy and sad which was a really weird mix of emotions to have pasted on her delicate face. Flora on the other hand, looked extremely excited about this new idea she had about a club. Last of all, her tea still looked warm and ready for more which made Marigold's heart sore with joy. She wandered back into the kitchen and served herself up another teacup and went to lean on the counter her eyes scanning the room for any more things of interest. Marigold brushed her red hair out of her face to uncover her bright blue eyes and looked to the two girls who she cherished most in life, each in turn. "So?" She tilted her head as if to indicate what she meant by the monosyllabic word. She wasn't a person of many words so this was normal. She had already guessed most of what had already been said and she glanced to Nolita wondering if she was enjoying her banana for today. She smiled and blew cold air on her tea as softly as possible.

Flora sat on the kitchen counter. It was a habit she had when she was excited. "Ok I will repeat myself. Ladies today we will be going to a club called "Under 21". Many people go there. We might be able to meet knew people. If we do we could be introduced to a lot of guys. Normally we hold the attention any way so it wont be hard." Flora played with her hair. It was another habit but she didn’t like it. "It might be hard to figure out who to talk to but I know we can do it." Flora looked at the tea in front of her. "We have to be as focused as we could be....We cant have urges and if any of us do then we leave. I am sure we will be fine though." Flora forced a smile.

Nolita obeyed and took a deep breath, fallowed by a big bite of banana. "I know...but no one really...well." She twirled, her dress twirling around with her. Perhaps her friend was right, she should simply not worry so much, a worried expression was bad for the skin anyway, and if anything a succubus was always taught to care about her looks, for they were her first weapon to catch a meal. Even though Nolita was getting sick to the stomach just thinking of feeding. Her conscience was a troublesome thing.

"Oh you're always right Flora." Nolita moved to the table, looking over as Marigold made her way in. They were three very different beauties. Marigold was the hot red head, Flora the dark beauty, and Nolita the angelic one. Between them anywhere they went eyes were on them, they would have no trouble being noticed at the club Flora wanted to go to.

"We should go to check it out, but I'm not sure it would really be busy till tonight, it is a club after all."

Flora smiled as her friends slowly approved. "The busier the better. We might get lucky and be slightly unnoticed. If anything we can always charm them a bit to go away if it becomes too much." Flora got off the counter. "So tonight we go to the club. Agreed?" Flora sipped the tea. They always smelled like flowers to her. Maybe it was from Marigold's love for flowers, she thought to herself.

While a veteran of over 47 different and succesful Succubus elimination missions, Martin always found himself up against a wall the first time he started. It was the same problem each and every mission, rookies and masters alike. Some would call it a question with an easy answer, but in these matters there were rarely any easy answers. This town was large, very large. The normal civilians were plenty and the Succubus were few, discerning flirtatious teenage girls from sociopathic killing abominations was tricky business. Especially since every mission Martin was more or less on his own. Just plopped right into town with a few possible descriptions of the Succubus. This time, however, the government had given him a tip. Another Succubus hunter was in the area as well, part of the specialized organization with roots in England that made hunting Succubus their top business. Martin wouldn't be surprised if the government had collaborated with the shady society on more than a few occassions. After all, if not, why would they tell him about it?

Martin looked at the slip of paper he had been given, an address and an apartment number scrawled on it. He looked at the apartment door he was standing in front of and the back to the paper. Yes, this was it. This was his room, or at least he hoped so. If not, the results would be rather embarassing and the occupant likely think him a lunatic. Martin crumpled the paper and tossed it down the hall haphazardly. He proceded to knock on the door, several times. Not one of those "it's your Aunty Sue comin' to visit" knocks either, it was those pounding "this is the Police, open up or we break it down" knocks. After knocking, Martin took a step back, straightened his tie and smoothed out his suit jacket. He hadn't shown up in uniform for obvious reasons, he didn't want to send the people of the town into a panic.

Smiling weakly, Martin clasped his hands behind his back and waited patiently for the door to be answered by the highly trained agent the organization was likely known for. It would surely be a pleasure to serve alongside a man of equal skill as his.

When Gabriel heard the thumping on the door, he initially wasn't going to answer it. He figured it would just be someone from another apartment complaining about his music. Tough luck for them. Then it dawned on him that if he wasn't careful he risked having the police called in for 'disturbing the peace', and he most certainly didn't need those ignorant fools bursting in. Not that he didn't value their job, but when it came to his line of work, they were more of a hindrance than a help. Pausing the music, he stood and strode over to the door, a half finished slice of pizza in one hand. There was a variety of clicks, bolts sliding back and chains being unhooked as he undid each of the thirteen locks he'd placed on the door (a lucky number, you will note...), in no particular hurry.

Opening up the door, his eyes widened slightly at the sight of the suited figure standing before him. He wasn't exactly sure what he had been expecting, but whatever it was it wasn't this. He gauged the man to be middle aged, possibly late thirties, though he had to admit he was incredibly poor at guessing ages. He glanced up and down, taking in the man's figure, instantly assessing from the way he held himself that this was someone with military training of some sort. A couple of dozen different scenarios for escaping popped into mind, and from these he quickly decided that if he had to run he would try a quick blow to the groin and leg it. Using a gun would likely blow his cover...

It was only then that the thought cropped up that perhaps this was just a travelling salesman, or maybe somebody on another floor of the apartment block had suicided (or something similar) and he was a detective. Too many possibilities. Best to maintain cover for now. And so it was, that after a couple of seconds of silence he finally said in as laid back a voice as he could manage "Hi...Can I help you?"
He was completely ignorant of what a mess he probably looked- slice of half-eaten pizza in one hand, the other ready to slam the door shut, meanwhile his hair was particularly unstyled and all over the place, and his overcoat was only half buckled up. He probably wouldn't have looked too out of place if he was undercover as a homeless person.

Time passed as Flora, Marigold and Nolita went towards the club. It hadnt taken them long to get ready to go. Marigold tended to her flowers and when she was done then thats when they left. They all looked great but not enough to get too much attention. They walked in. Flora looked around. The music was high and she hoped they wouldn’t get separated. "Remember what I said before. If you have an urge to feed hurry and leave and meet up at the house." She was thirsty. For some reason soda tended to take her hunger away.

"Table 3 wants 4 cokes, 2 green!" Daniel could hear the usual chaos coming from the bar even as he stood all the way by the door.
"I need three shakes, Two white one brown!
"Make one of those cokes skinny!"
"One of the greens?"
"nah the regular."
Daniel sighed, he would definitely need to hire at least another pair of hands if the club continued to gain popularity. He watched as teens continued to pile in through the door at a steady rate. He sighed and decided to help as he always did. He straightened up and walked up to the most recent group entering, three girls who seemed to be dressed for subtlety. He approached the one with long purple hair and smiled.
"Hey there how can I help you?" He said bring his hand to his chest at a right angle and bowing his head slightly.

Flora just smiled at the guy. She observed him and felt it was unusual for him to bow to her. Sure she had many do it before but never when they didnt know her. "Yes a table for 3 please. We are new here and heard about this place. It really is something." She smiled sweetly hoping they seemed like they belonged.

"well table for three it is, come with me." Daniel turned and began walking them towards one of the few empty tables. He had to shout so they could hear him over the music. "You look like your new in town. If you don't mind me saying." He motioned towards the table. "Here we are. Would you like anything?"

"Well like I said we are new here." She laughed low. "Um i would just like a coke. Do you want anything Marigold and Nolita?"

Marigold nodded. "I'll take a virgin strawberry daiquiri. Make sure it's a virgin." She scanned the club with interest. It was interesting after all or it was supposed to be. She sighed and took a seat. At some point before she had come to the club she had changed into her solid red over-the-shoulder and red skinnies. She had refrained from going overboard and going with her cute red cocktail dress. How many men had she caught the eye of in that dress? She could say hundreds but then she liked to be modest. Her heels thankfully weren't as tacky as some of the other women she noticed in the club. She had gone with the strappy black heels that weren't too small and yet weren't five inches long. She tapped the to a beat in her head as she sat gazing about the club languidly.

She had only noticed one cutie so far and was quite disappointed that there weren't many others. She readjusted herself on the couch and sighed once more glancing to Flora and Nolita pleadingly. "Who am I really looking for?" She muttered to herself and half to her friends keeping the volume down so as the boy couldn't hear.

Flora began to look around after Marigold said what she wanted. She saw a lot of men but none in the crowded that she thought might be able to make the curse go away. Flora looked down at herself. She didn’t really want to stand out as much. She wore a black mini-skirt with a dark purple blouse and black boots. She was pretty plain compared to her friends but she liked it that way. She began to look at the guy who was serving them. He looked cute but there was something else that she couldn’t really put her finger on. Something about him that caught her attention. "So what's your name stranger?"

Daniel smiled at the red haired girl. "Everything is a virgin here....well the drinks are. So a strawberry Daiquiri and a coke?" He was going to ask the girl wearing the fancy dress when the purple haired girl asked for his name. He smiled and did another small bow. "Silverstone, Daniel Silverstone. It's a pleasure to meet you miss...?" He straightened up and grinned as he waited for her to respond with her name.

Marigold's gaze glanced between the male and then her best friend. "Thanks. Also Yes." She felt happiness bloom for a single moment before she stifled it. she could almost her the lonesome drop of joy scream as she put out it's flames. Oh well. She was going to feel sorry for herself just yet and she figured that her and Daniel weren't really as compatible as she had initially analyzed.

She needed someone wild to stroke the flames of her gentle hearth. She sighed and tapped her nails against the table. She wanted to leave. She felt her flowers call to her or was that just an excuse? Well it was a darn good one. She had this feeling of foreboding and dread and it was making her edgy and irritated. Very abnormal for what her temperament usually was. She glanced over at Nolita wondering what she thought but found out nothing in particular. She fidgeted then went still watching the entrance to the club. She seemed to be transfixed on something outside and it looked very interesting to her. Better than watching the men in here.

"Oi, I'm not covering your shift again." David said as he waved back. "Catch ya later, man." David exited the shop and looked in the window as he walked by, the guy who came in after him already dozing off. Not many people bought music from stores anymore, which made sitting behind the desk and seeing if your makeshift paper ball can hit the Paul McCartney albums a constant routine. But, the boss was never around, so if you liked to goof off it was a good place to work. He flipped his cellphone opened and began to run through his contacts list. Most of his old high school friends either went to college or are working right now. What he needed to do was find someone who was unemployed and tolerable, the best qualities in someone to be bored with. "Likely studying, likely studying, likely studying, likely working, likely studying, working, working, and likely would ask me to post his bail. Great, turning into one hell of a night. I guess I might as well go home, grab a massive bag of junk food, and pass out on the couch during fresh prince reruns. Rock n' roll, David, rock n' roll." He closed his phone and took a heavy sigh, stuffing the phone down in his pocket as he continued walking.

"What I need to do is find a girl, or two, but one would suffice under these circumstances." He continued walking down the street aimlessly, turning the corner to see an under 21 club he frequently passed by on his way home. He had never gone in, but with such a dreadful original plan, at least stopping for an hour or so could do some good. He looked down at his clothing, realizing he was still wearing brown khakis and a black t-shirt with Mike's Records and Classics written across it. "Oh yeah, this would definitely bring the girls. I can see it now, them staring half-asleep, me insisting that they can't find a better deal. My, what magical times. Oh, and I now appear to openly talk to myself in public. The good times just keep on rollin'." He shrugged and decided just going inside would be best, so as to not lose that last bit of a days worth of pride. He walked inside the door, and was immediately blasted with the usual dance music these places offer. without even giving the crowd a once over, he immediately walked over to the bar and sat down on an available stool. "Hey, yeah, can I get a coke."

Flora grinned at Daniel. "I am Flora, Flora Hael. It is a pleasure to meet you." Flora looked at her friend Marigold and frowned a bit. It seemed she wanted to leave. "Marie why don’t you go to the bar get something to go and then you can go. If you don’t want to stay I wont force you." She smiled kindly at her friend. This idea of coming here wasn’t something that was going to be forced. She turned back to Daniel. Again she felt there was something more to him when she looked at him. "If I may ask. When do you get off work?" She hadn’t touched her drink but at this point she didn’t feel like it mattered.

Daniel was a bit surprised to be asked the question. Sure some of the more..."experinced" girls the club got would sometimes flirt with him whenever he decided to help out with orders, but no one had ever really showed much of an intrest. He lost a bit of composure as he replied slightly nervous. "I um, I manage the place, so I'm usually the last one to go home.The club closes it's doors at twelve tonight, but doesnt really empty till about one. So I guess...one thirty?" Daniel sighed in his head. Now that I say it out loud that sounds kind of late.