still alive. He moved forward, embracing the shocked Elizabeth. Slowly at first, then more rapidly, her shoulders shook as she joined his laughter.
The two stood like that for a while, Elizabeth’s laughter fading to tears with Vlad just holding and comforting her. He leaned back, brushing the hair away from her undamaged eye. “You okay?”
She nodded.
“Good.” He said. “Let’s go get some food so we can heal. What do you feel like tonight?”
She sniffled a little, wiping at her face with her arm. Her white pant suit was wrecked, between the spatters of human blood, god blood, and dirt. She tried sucking at one of the golden droplets staining her jacket, then spat disgustedly. “That tastes foul.”
Vlad’s brows furrowed in confusion. He had tasted divine blood once before. It had been the singular most empowering and delicious moment of his life.
She sighed. “Let’s just have Chinese.”
***
1999
***
Lilith
“What the hell are you thinking?” Lilith fumed as she stormed into the pizzeria. Time froze around her.
Loki paused, a slice of pepperoni pizza halfway to his mouth. “Um. I don’t know? Maybe if you gave me a frame of reference about what you are talking about. I’m not a mind reader, you know. Well, actually, I suppose I am a mind reader, when I want to waste my powers on such a ridiculous effort. It’s pointless to read someone’s mind considering that people so rarely know themselves what they are thinking. I mean—”
“Enough blabbering!” Lilith slammed a hand down on the table, knocking over the cayenne pepper and parmesan dispensers. “Your shaman scion and that damned vampire. How could you endanger our plans by letting them know each other?”
Loki blinked, then took a bite of his pizza, chewing thoroughly. “That was, like, twenty years ago when they met. You’re just now catching on? Wow. Just wow. You are the embodiment of woman, of cunning, of intuition, and of seduction. And you’re telling me it took you, with all those tools, two decades to pick up on that one? Not feeling like yourself, Lilith?”
She leaned on the table, her nails digging into the Formica tabletop. “I trusted you. That’s why I didn’t notice. You were supposed to keep them separate. If you had done that, Tepes and Bathory would have been so obsessed with chasing down Jon and Mina that Bathory’s inevitable push to take out the elder generation of werewolves would have fractured them. We came up with this together, you ass, so that when we went after Kaine they wouldn’t be by his side.”
“Actually, we didn’t.”
Lilith’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Excuse me?”
Loki finished another bite of the Pizza. “Nothing beats a fresh slice, lemme tell you. Just, mm.”
Lilith slapped the pizza out of his hand. “We didn’t what?”
Loki frowned, watching as the slice of pizza hit the frozen time of the rest of the world and froze in midair. He sighed and looked back at Lilith. “We didn’t come up with it together. You decided it, I fought against it. I tried to show you other ways, but you manipulated me.”
Formica cracked as Lilith listened.
“As a matter of fact, Lilith, I’m not the only one that strayed from the plan that you came up with. You think I didn’t spot you as Lilly in that coffee shop? You thought I miss you breaking Mina and Jon apart? Though, I admit, it was a good move. They are both stronger for it. So, what is your real game? Care to share? Are we still even fighting for the same thing?”
Black lightning started to crackle around the edges of Lilith’s eyes.
Loki stood up and walked over to his slice of floating pizza. “Careful. Your tell is showing.” He deliberately left his back exposed as he took a bite.
Lilith took a deep breath and her eyes returned to normal. “I just want us to win, Loki. Your actions better not derail us from our path, or I will end you. Do not forget that almost a third of humanity believes in me, on some
The two stood like that for a while, Elizabeth’s laughter fading to tears with Vlad just holding and comforting her. He leaned back, brushing the hair away from her undamaged eye. “You okay?”
She nodded.
“Good.” He said. “Let’s go get some food so we can heal. What do you feel like tonight?”
She sniffled a little, wiping at her face with her arm. Her white pant suit was wrecked, between the spatters of human blood, god blood, and dirt. She tried sucking at one of the golden droplets staining her jacket, then spat disgustedly. “That tastes foul.”
Vlad’s brows furrowed in confusion. He had tasted divine blood once before. It had been the singular most empowering and delicious moment of his life.
She sighed. “Let’s just have Chinese.”
***
1999
***
Lilith
“What the hell are you thinking?” Lilith fumed as she stormed into the pizzeria. Time froze around her.
Loki paused, a slice of pepperoni pizza halfway to his mouth. “Um. I don’t know? Maybe if you gave me a frame of reference about what you are talking about. I’m not a mind reader, you know. Well, actually, I suppose I am a mind reader, when I want to waste my powers on such a ridiculous effort. It’s pointless to read someone’s mind considering that people so rarely know themselves what they are thinking. I mean—”
“Enough blabbering!” Lilith slammed a hand down on the table, knocking over the cayenne pepper and parmesan dispensers. “Your shaman scion and that damned vampire. How could you endanger our plans by letting them know each other?”
Loki blinked, then took a bite of his pizza, chewing thoroughly. “That was, like, twenty years ago when they met. You’re just now catching on? Wow. Just wow. You are the embodiment of woman, of cunning, of intuition, and of seduction. And you’re telling me it took you, with all those tools, two decades to pick up on that one? Not feeling like yourself, Lilith?”
She leaned on the table, her nails digging into the Formica tabletop. “I trusted you. That’s why I didn’t notice. You were supposed to keep them separate. If you had done that, Tepes and Bathory would have been so obsessed with chasing down Jon and Mina that Bathory’s inevitable push to take out the elder generation of werewolves would have fractured them. We came up with this together, you ass, so that when we went after Kaine they wouldn’t be by his side.”
“Actually, we didn’t.”
Lilith’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Excuse me?”
Loki finished another bite of the Pizza. “Nothing beats a fresh slice, lemme tell you. Just, mm.”
Lilith slapped the pizza out of his hand. “We didn’t what?”
Loki frowned, watching as the slice of pizza hit the frozen time of the rest of the world and froze in midair. He sighed and looked back at Lilith. “We didn’t come up with it together. You decided it, I fought against it. I tried to show you other ways, but you manipulated me.”
Formica cracked as Lilith listened.
“As a matter of fact, Lilith, I’m not the only one that strayed from the plan that you came up with. You think I didn’t spot you as Lilly in that coffee shop? You thought I miss you breaking Mina and Jon apart? Though, I admit, it was a good move. They are both stronger for it. So, what is your real game? Care to share? Are we still even fighting for the same thing?”
Black lightning started to crackle around the edges of Lilith’s eyes.
Loki stood up and walked over to his slice of floating pizza. “Careful. Your tell is showing.” He deliberately left his back exposed as he took a bite.
Lilith took a deep breath and her eyes returned to normal. “I just want us to win, Loki. Your actions better not derail us from our path, or I will end you. Do not forget that almost a third of humanity believes in me, on some
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