playground. All summer long it played host to a plethora of festivals from the Blues Festival to the Bite of Portland. When it wasn’t acting as the site of a citywide party, it was the home away from home for skate boarders, a romantic spot for couples in love, and a fun place for kids and grownups alike to escape the heat in its giant fountain. And through it all there was the river rushing on its way toward the ocean.
I might have been an air sign, but I’d always had a bit of a thing for water. I might’ve preferred wind to rain, but give me a raging river or a pounding ocean and I was a happy girl. So, I guess if I had to hunt a vampire, the Waterfront was the place to do it.
I parked the car a couple of blocks from the Waterfront. The World Trade Center buildings were near the Waterfront, and ever since 9/11, parking had been restricted due to security concerns. It was a pain, but what could you do?
I always carried a couple of weapons on me. Never knew when they’d come in handy. I rarely weaponed up fully, however, until I’d actually found the vamp I was looking for. This time, though, Cordelia had given me the heads up, and I was starting to realize that when Cordelia gave you the heads up, you’d better listen, so I was going in fully loaded. In addition to my usual built-in boot knife and favorite bra stiletto knife, I slid a small sword into its sheath which was slung at an angle across the back of my leather jacket, strapped a blade bracelet on each of my wrists, and slipped a couple of silver tipped metal spikes into my belt.
I once had a conversation with a monk who told me the Catholic Church still prefers old school slaying: wooden stakes and holy water. That’s all well and good for a six foot monk with enough muscle to bench press a Volkswagen, but trust me, shoving a wooden stake into someone’s ribcage was no easy task and the holy water was just for show. A metal stake through the heart would kill a vamp just as dead as a wooden one. Not to mention you could get the point a lot sharper on a metal stake, so it went in a heck of a lot easier.
In addition to my other weapons, I had a new toy I was itching to try out. I got all my weapons from Tessalah because she was the best in the business. If you needed to kill a demon, slay a dragon, or dust a vampire, you went to Tessalah. If she didn’t have a weapon that could kill it, she’d invent one. And if she couldn’t invent one, then you were pretty much out of luck.
My new toy looked something like an aspirator for babies. The bulb was glass which had been infused with magic so it was flexible like rubber. The magic gave a faintly purple luminescence to the clear glass. The bulb was bracketed by thin bands of sterling silver which in turn attached to the thin needle-like neck of the aspirator, also made of sterling silver over steel.
Instead of sucking baby boogers, this aspirator supposedly killed vamps. Theoretically, the silver neck was stabbed into the vampire and then the bulb was squeezed, injecting salt water straight into the vampire. Salt water acted on vampires very much like acid in humans. Ejecting it straight into the body would essentially melt it from the inside out. Uber cool. I’d yet to try it out, but I was sure it’d work just fine. Tessalah had a way with magical weapons.
The lights glinted off the water, turning the river into a Monet reflection of the city. I’d seen numerous photographs and paintings try to recreate that image, yet not a single one did it justice.
I breathed in the night, reveling in the glory that was darkness. Sometimes I worried if I wasn’t a little too much like the creatures I hunted, loving the night as I did. To me the night had never been about fear. Most nights, the darkness wrapped itself around me like a well-worn blanket and asked me to stay awhile. Tonight was no different.
As I strolled along the waterfront, I wrapped the night around me like a cloak, sending my essence, my
I might have been an air sign, but I’d always had a bit of a thing for water. I might’ve preferred wind to rain, but give me a raging river or a pounding ocean and I was a happy girl. So, I guess if I had to hunt a vampire, the Waterfront was the place to do it.
I parked the car a couple of blocks from the Waterfront. The World Trade Center buildings were near the Waterfront, and ever since 9/11, parking had been restricted due to security concerns. It was a pain, but what could you do?
I always carried a couple of weapons on me. Never knew when they’d come in handy. I rarely weaponed up fully, however, until I’d actually found the vamp I was looking for. This time, though, Cordelia had given me the heads up, and I was starting to realize that when Cordelia gave you the heads up, you’d better listen, so I was going in fully loaded. In addition to my usual built-in boot knife and favorite bra stiletto knife, I slid a small sword into its sheath which was slung at an angle across the back of my leather jacket, strapped a blade bracelet on each of my wrists, and slipped a couple of silver tipped metal spikes into my belt.
I once had a conversation with a monk who told me the Catholic Church still prefers old school slaying: wooden stakes and holy water. That’s all well and good for a six foot monk with enough muscle to bench press a Volkswagen, but trust me, shoving a wooden stake into someone’s ribcage was no easy task and the holy water was just for show. A metal stake through the heart would kill a vamp just as dead as a wooden one. Not to mention you could get the point a lot sharper on a metal stake, so it went in a heck of a lot easier.
In addition to my other weapons, I had a new toy I was itching to try out. I got all my weapons from Tessalah because she was the best in the business. If you needed to kill a demon, slay a dragon, or dust a vampire, you went to Tessalah. If she didn’t have a weapon that could kill it, she’d invent one. And if she couldn’t invent one, then you were pretty much out of luck.
My new toy looked something like an aspirator for babies. The bulb was glass which had been infused with magic so it was flexible like rubber. The magic gave a faintly purple luminescence to the clear glass. The bulb was bracketed by thin bands of sterling silver which in turn attached to the thin needle-like neck of the aspirator, also made of sterling silver over steel.
Instead of sucking baby boogers, this aspirator supposedly killed vamps. Theoretically, the silver neck was stabbed into the vampire and then the bulb was squeezed, injecting salt water straight into the vampire. Salt water acted on vampires very much like acid in humans. Ejecting it straight into the body would essentially melt it from the inside out. Uber cool. I’d yet to try it out, but I was sure it’d work just fine. Tessalah had a way with magical weapons.
The lights glinted off the water, turning the river into a Monet reflection of the city. I’d seen numerous photographs and paintings try to recreate that image, yet not a single one did it justice.
I breathed in the night, reveling in the glory that was darkness. Sometimes I worried if I wasn’t a little too much like the creatures I hunted, loving the night as I did. To me the night had never been about fear. Most nights, the darkness wrapped itself around me like a well-worn blanket and asked me to stay awhile. Tonight was no different.
As I strolled along the waterfront, I wrapped the night around me like a cloak, sending my essence, my
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