everywhere i go

Back home the fireworks still would’ve been popping in the sky. Lighting up that stretch of dark that seemed to press in against the plate glass window that stretched across the front of the shop. Deep red curtains, velvet, draped either side of it, like the ones in a theatre. Left open tonight to frame the undecorated sky, at least until he locked the shop up in a half hour and then the unrelieved dark would be blocked out. The lock thrown on the door, what waited in the locked and warded cabinet in back brought out and spread in front of Cassie. Nicky glanced up from the watch he’d been fiddling with – probably wasn’t gonna work in the end but the case was nice enough, and chased in a script he didn’t recognise – shot her a grin as she chattered away to him. No wonder he had fireworks on the mind when the young witch was fizzing and popping just the same way.

It was enough to bring a pang to a man’s chest. Nicky set the watch down on the velvet cloth on the counter for a moment to rub his fingers over the centre of his chest like he was just brushing the dust from the watch off. One of the youngsters from the college had brought it in – my granddad’s, ‘s’not worth much huh?. They were right, it wasn’t as it was but he’d still counted the fifty dollars out on the counter and had felt something in the pit of his stomach shift and unfurl as the kid had bounced out of there. Not an ounce of regret there, despite the ties that stretched invisibly through the generations. Nothing like his own, even Mandy wouldn’t hand over something that’d been handed down like she was trading a few pennys for sweets.

Nicky sighed at the moment, dropping his hand from where it’d worried at the front of his waistcoat. His brows hitched, amusement pulling at his mouth. ”I’m gonna dump this one on you,” he warned with some amusement. "What d’you think he didn’t see on this?” He wouldn’t drag the details out of her but he pushed it across the counter, waiting for her nose to wrinkle the way Mandy’s would’ve done.

If it hadn’t been for the auction and a warlock’s insistence on hanging around to see his bits and bobs sold off to the highest bidder it might have been just Mandy he was training up here. Trying not to feel the grief rolling off of his little sister or see It still burning in Darcey’s eyes every time he rolled in from wherever he was taking himself off to in town. Cassie had sparkled like those fireworks at the auction too, drinking in what he was murmuring at her about the pieces and the man himself but Boucher had latched onto her and he’d been forced too…

Glancing down at his fingers, Nicky rubbed them together again and fluttered them in the air like he was driving Boucher away with the dusting of iron powder again. He chuckled, the sound faintly rusty, then bent his head, and started talking to Cassie again as he folded the velvet cloth into one fist like the magicians some of his kind had pretended to be over the years. He’d always entertained Mandy with the tricks when she’d been little. Now her and Cassie were much of an age, but it was only Cassie sitting there on the stool when the door chimed open.

Blue eyes went flat as he watched a man, tall and broad enough to have had Darcey bristling for the fight that seemed to be the only thing that got the burn of grief out of his chest for a time lately, work his way through the cabinets and tables that filled the shop. Nicky’s head came up, Cassie’s bright chatter fading as the man’s smile shone. A charmer this one, although Nicky wasn’t sure how deep that went.

Cassie obviously caught a wash of it, a blush rising in the girl’s cheeks. Had it been Mandy he would’ve cleared his throat, shot him that look that Darcey would’ve expanded on until it included fists. This one would’ve had inches and pounds on his older brother but those didn’t mean half as much to Darce as they might’ve to anybody else. ”Evenin’,” Nicky said cordially. He propped his hands on the edge of the counter, although his fingers immediately started curling in. That was ballsy in a town like this. ”You can say it,” he told him, tipping his head towards Cassie. ”She knows and she’s smart enough to put it together from that. I take it you’re … fresh ‘nough you’ve never ‘ad one before?” Some would’ve interrogated him to see whether he’d take that ring and use it to leave the streets running red, others would’ve had their hand out right away, not bothering who they were making daylight rings for as long as their palm was crossed with a little silver so to speak. Nicky fell somewhere in the middle, tapping his fingers sharp on the edge of the counter to bring the man’s gaze back to him.

Tagged: REMZI DURMAZ * Word Count: 870

Word of mouth brought business, even in a town as small as Mystic Falls. Gossip rushing from eager mouths to greedy ears, truths scraped from the top like cream from milk. You got to know who had a little to pass out from under the counter, who handled things that weren’t exactly kosher, you knew who would buy and you knew you could pay off. With his partner around he’d been little more than a travelling salesman but his disappearance had changed things. Nicky knew that even without Cassie here as his protégé what he’d started to offer would get around.

He should’ve pegged the guy from the start, his sort not typically the kind to go pressing their noses up against the cabinets of costume jewellery or pawing through racks of furs. The scent of patchouli that had occasionally filled the shop back home would have had him rearing back, his granite hewn face screwing up in distaste instead of settling into more disturbing lines as he’d winked at Cassie. Cold blue eyes fixed on him despite the cool warning in his voice. The girl wasn’t be toyed with or the welcome would turn icy.

Seeing it fail to pull the bloke’s attention back to him Nicky had tapped his fingers sharp against the counter, he’d have put some power into it but he wasn’t about to do anything to damage the shop or, more importantly, to give too much away about what he was capable of when he wasn’t quite sure how much had leeched out anyway. Dark brows hitched as the man’s attention hopped back, his brows furrowing at the summoning. Easing in, Nicky propped his hands on the edge of the counter and dropped his voice like he was being a little conspiratorial. ”A little advice then. If you do go mentionin’ it outside of ‘ere, I’d be discrete. You never know who’s pickin’ up on things.” Who would turn that little verbal slip into a reason for violence. There might’ve been plenty of practitioners, or vampires, in town, but there were also gangs of hunters who’d be happy enough to permanently cut off access to things like daylight rings and he’d have no harm down to Cassie for this.

Fingertips tapping lightly on the glass top of the cabinet, Nicky indicated the tray of rings below. Just a single ring with a lapis stone was displayed, hidden among a variety of others that held far less power than that nugget of midnight blue. A needle hidden in a stack of them just for that hint of subtlety. ”They’re daylight rings … for lettin’ you walk in it, yeah?” There was a trace more warmth in his words, a thread of amusement that would stay thin. Cassie was obviously feeling far more. Nicky glanced at her as she tipped her head back to laugh, caught the glance the vampire darted at her before his head dropped and he started to squeeze fingers at his eyes. No, not here.

His frown thickened as he shook his head at Cassie, a warning in his eyes. You didn’t drop any sort of temptation, intentional of not, in front of things like this one. It was like putting your fingers in a strange dog’s mouth, hoping it wouldn’t choose to bite you. Clearing his throat, Nicky tried to pull the man’s attention back to him seconds before the stupor seemed to break and he nodded, looking up without the veins crawling under his eyes now. ”You sure you’re ready for it?” he asked, avoiding the pun. Turning into a virtual prisoner during the day did suck, especially when it kept you from the meals just wandering the street. Nicky tipped his head, playing the sage. ”I doubt I’m breakin’ it to you, mate, but there is somethin’ wrong with you. This isn’t a cure all for the bad shit that comes with that. Remember that, hmm?” There was no cure for what he had other than a stake to the chest and unless he laid a finger on Cassie Nicky wasn’t in the business of offering that.

Letting out a sigh Nicky reached into his pocket for the keys to the cabinets in the back room. Darce had his set, Mandy hers, he’d had some cut for Cassie too but had wanted a few more weeks to train her up before he gave her entirely free reign in there. He held them out to her, not answering the vampire’s question for a minute. ”Head in and get the tray ready?” he asked Cassie, blue eyes steady on her. She’d know what he meant. He might’ve had reservations but with the warnings laid on thick … he’d do it. The minute she was gone with them he looked back to the vampire. ”Five hundred dollars … and a promise, as much as you’re able to make one. I make you this, you don’t abuse it. I know control’s never exactly child’s play but you don’t get yourself wrapped up ‘round someone like her.” AKA touch the girl and the ring’s gone at the very least.

Tagged: REMZI DURMAZ * Word Count: 854

Was the man ready for the more crowded streets of the daytime? Judging by the breath he let out into his hand, Nicky was ready to call bullshit on it. It was one thing to be skulking around at night, picking at the dregs of society – although murder was never to be excused, especially not when it came with a supernatural touch – it was another to be on a crowded street, heartbeats echoing in your ear, temptation drowning you. Nicky almost ordered Cassie in the back to avoid giving it to the vampire now but she’d drag her heels, he’d squawk some sort of protest and all the more light would be thrown on the blood sucker in the room without it even being poured into the gift he’d be getting for a low, low price.

Nicky huffed out a breath tinted with bitter amusement. The vampire was grumbling like a toddler with a smacked arse, crabbing about being turned and that slippery slope from it. Was that all it took to shuck the blame for fucking up these days? Would the sirens have said the same if they’d walked away from the fight to get Darce free? The thought sent enough bitterness rolling up his throat that he almost told him to get out. Breaking it to him or not, there was a learning curve to this that was gonna come right back on him if he walked out of here and slaughtered his way through the square at lunch time tomorrow.

Forcing a bland look into his eyes, Nicky shook his head. His fingers curled in, tapping lightly enough against the glass of the counter to barely make a sound. ”They’re not exactly mutually exclusive. Trust me, mate, I don’t wanna walk in yer shoes.” At least what he was didn’t tend to come with that yawning chasm of need in his stomach, just the occasional pit put there where something that did feel it carved out a part of his life.

Maybe if Darce wasn’t still hollowed out by it he’d be standing here. A hard faced solid wall of potential violence standing between the vampire and the girl. A smile might’ve twitched, the only warning that would come before he blew. Lucky for the hipster here he was the cooler head in the family, the rational one weighing up the pros and cons on this. The one setting the price.

Lips that went thin curved faintly, little lines creeping up at the corners of Nicky’s eyes as he watched the vampire almost languidly. The price could still end up high, another bill added with every protest. Nicky lifted his hands, spread them before he gestured at the door. ”Def’nitely without one. You could always go out there with your hat in yer hand, hope another warlock’ll take pity ‘nough to wave their hands over a rock.” A low hum rolled out of him, twisting into a growl of warning as the vampire leaned in and tried to add a little intimidation. ”All of them,” Nicky said coldly. ”You looked like you might before, gettin’ all wound up, like a bloke in a mac twitchin’ in a park. If you’re not stupid enough then we won’t hae a problem, will we?” There was an edge to his voice, a tilt to his head that should’ve been warning enough. Cassie might’ve looked like she was blooming into her womanhood but he’d seen the kid still in her and knew just what he’d do if anything more than a raw word was spoken.

Nicky drew himself up as Cassie appeared, offering her a half smile as she returned with the rings. He shifted his weight, still close enough to get a hand between them if the vampire decided to prove a point. ”Discrete lookin’, perfect,” he drawled. .Plucking the ring from the tray, Nicky held it lightly in one palm before he gestured rapidly with the other. ”Seorsum.” A single muttered word enough to have a wind snatch at the heavy drapes that shielded the front window. He’d noted where the man was, stopped the move an inch short of one beefy shoulder. One wrong twitch and he’d be yelping like the scalded toddler he’d appeared to be. ”Careful.” That glint of amusement was back as his eyes flicked up towards the man. He could’ve made a point of asking for the money first but he was already angling towards Cassie, exaggeratedly stepping through the spell to create the ring. He’d done the same at his dad’s elbow, watching with wide eyes as the sun almost trapped itself in that glittering stone.

Tagged: REMZI DURMAZ * Word Count: 773