Darkest Before the Dawn (male/male)
This Doesn't Feel Good

Felix

Returning to Akiya’s with almost no information was defeating. It was cutting too close to sunset for me to be out much longer, though, and exhaustion was weighing down my limbs.

I couldn’t look Evander in the eye when he unlocked the front door for me, handing me a hot mug full of blood. I didn’t feel like I deserved it, taking it only out of politeness. “I’m sorry you couldn’t find him,” he offered after I had relayed everything I learned.

“I’m going to. I have to.” My gums were aching, ignoring the primal need to drink the blood given to me. It would taste exactly like every other sample I’d had since Mew’s blood: bland, lackluster. The taste of Mew’s had been something I chose to pay no mind to. It wasn’t safe to think about. But there had been a difference, a glaring one that pushed at my dry throat. My usual O- didn’t cut through the desire.

I was better than the BRF vampires. It wouldn’t consume me the way it did to them.

So I downed the blood Evander prepared for me, silently wishing for the blaze of magic to wash into my stomach.

It made me feel better, the liquid fueling me again, clearing my head in the way I was used to. It had only been three days without blood, which was typical of me, but the anxiety had created a deeper thirst.

However, it didn’t help any with the weariness. I found myself hiding away in Evander’s sunproof office, compressing myself into a ball on the loveseat. I missed my own bed. I missed my blankets. I missed Hades.

Briefly, I let myself miss Mew before it grew too painful.

Not long after I had laid down, I heard Cadence shuffle past the door. She had a particular lazy way she walked, especially this late into the night. Her shadow crossed underneath the gap in the door.

I almost wanted to confront her. The direction of the van and usage of medical supplies weren’t much, but I wanted to tell her whatever I could to flip the switch back to our dynamic of being best friends again.

I hadn’t realized how high the wall was between us until we sat on the plane to Mazerene that night, Cadence opting to sit away from me and Marigold, facing the window. She had barely spoken to us on the way here in Evander’s car. A few times, she asked to change the songs Evander would play, both of us knowing they were some Mew would listen to.

Colin was waiting for us in the lobby of the capitol building, his scowl dissipating when he caught sight of our own expressions. “Evening, detectives,” he muttered to me and Goldie, eyeing Cadence in a way that said he wasn’t sure how to address someone from human resources. “Evening, Miss Palmer.”

She casually saluted the shapeshifter before walking past him, headed towards the legal department and the interrogation offices. “Are those BRF members up from their cells?”

Colin narrowed his eyes at her, following her at a quick pace. Goldie and I hurried after them. “Yes, but you understand you’re not allowed to be involved in this, correct? You work in HR—it’s not your place to do interrogations.”

Cade’s shoulders squared. She took in a sharp breath through her nose when she whipped around to glare at Colin. Before she could start tearing into him the way I knew she wanted to do, I placed my hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. “You’re welcome to watch through the glass. Goldie and I have this under control, okay?”

She flinched and set her jaw; she glared at the tile from the corners of her eyes. “Fine.”

Colin escorted us to the interrogation rooms. Layla had been the last person we talked to here, finding out that Madeline had been lying about how deep her role was in the BRF. Now she was back at the metal table, handcuffed in place and adorned in an orange jumpsuit, waiting for me and Marigold. Her lips were pressed into a thin line, although she appeared far less angry than the last time we had talked.

“I assume I’m not here for you to tell me you’ve ended the BRF. Not very good detectives, are we?” she asked, leaning back in her seat. “Why are you here to see me?”

“Our partner was taken by Richard, and we need to know possible locations of where he’s keeping demons,” Goldie explained. “We know he’s using them for blood farming, but with the BRF spreading out over the South at such an alarming rate, we’re not sure where to start. Two members were killed yesterday morning, as well, for breaking into a council member’s home to kidnap his husband. There are also humans involved with the kidnapping of our partner.”

Layla was listening intently, tipping her head and nodding. “It’s how they recruit vampires. I was a human who did basic work for them, like scouting out demons and good locations for meetings. In exchange, I was offered vampirism, which sounded amazing at the time. I mean, what girl didn’t want to become a vampire after reading Twilight, you know?”

“You regret it,” I commented.

She rubbed her jaw. “More than you know. I hate this. I miss food so much. I was vegan before turning. Fifteen years of veganism, down the drain. And I taught my own yoga classes every day at the Planet Fitness up the road from me. But being a vampire sounded so alluring. Forever young and beautiful, superspeed, super strength, heightened senses. I’m sure you could understand.”

I shook my head. No, I didn’t understand. I never would. “They use humans to do their grunt work, then?”

“Then turn them after a few weeks of proving themselves.” She rapped her knuckles on the table. “Do you know the names of the ones who were killed?”

Goldie took this one. “Travis was the name of one of them. He said he was sent to kidnap the council member’s husband to force Mazerene to free Madeline and grant BRF immunity from their crimes, but Akiya killed them before it could happen.”

Layla’s eyes darkened, and she turned her head. “Travis was relatively new. He was sweet but followed orders a little too well. I’m not surprised he was killed.” The room grew silent, the air-con creating a gentle hum over us. “I can’t tell you much more. I already told you that I wasn’t very high up in the organization. Madeline was tight-lipped with her knowledge, which I already told y’all about. If you need info, she’s the bitch to go to.”

Goldie and I exchanged a look, mine of reluctance in having to rely on Madeline. It couldn’t be avoided, then. “And you’re certain none of the others—”

“This is déjà vu. I’m going to say this again—none of those fuckers will talk. Madeline sold my ass out, and that is the only reason I’m telling you anything that I know. I want her to end up here for as long as possible. I want that fucking dirtbag Richard to end up here. Those two promised me my safety, and I still ended up getting arrested.” She snarled, slamming her palms down on the table. “Do you know how hard it is to lie to my mom about where I am? It was bad enough lying to her about what I am, but now I’m undead and in prison. That’s not exactly a fun conversation.”

“If we offer you another plea deal—”

“I have nothing for you. Believe me, I want to give you more information, but I don’t fucking know anything.”

Rubbing my eyes, I settled my elbows on the table, wishing there was another way to go about this. “We’ll have to bring Madeline in.”

Removing a bullet from an open gunshot wound would have been preferable.

My chest tightened when I sat across from her after Colin locked her cuffs in place. Almond eyes crinkled in the corners when they saw how uncomfortable I was.

Two months had passed since I last saw Madeline on the night when Mew and I kissed for the first time. I had been aching for that for ages, to kiss him and make it feel like belonged with me. That night had provided a rush of endorphins and a shock to my system from his blood, the effects it had on me, and our kiss.

Pulling myself from that moment in time was difficult. “Prison hasn’t been too kind to you,” I noticed, blurting out the first thought I had about her.

“I’m so glad you’ve noticed,” Madeline mumbled, rolling her sunken gray eyes. “What’s so important that you had to pull me up from my cell? I was scheming.”

“I don’t doubt that. Perhaps if you had stuck to your pacifist ways, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”

She passed her tongue along the bottoms of her teeth and quirked an unkempt eyebrow. “I’ll keep that in mind next time. Why are you here, Felix?” Languid eyes passed over Goldie, then back to me. “Where’s your new plaything?”

Keeping composure was hard. I had to for Mew’s sake. Any hint of desperation would shut Madeline down. “We were hoping you could tell us that.”

She tilted her chin up. “Richard finally got him?” Mine and Goldie’s silence made her nod once. “Couldn’t even protect him. Feeling a little pathetic, then, I’m sure.”

Goldie tucked her hair behind her ears and leaned forward, covered elbows on the metal table. “We need locations of possible hideouts where Richard is keeping demons. You’re going to tell us.”

“That’s cute,” Madeline laughed, pointing at Goldie and staring wide-eyed at me. “Does she do that with everyone? How precious is she?”

“You don’t need to be condescending.”

“Or what, you’ll make the flowers bloom a little earlier in spring? I’m surprised you even know what that big word means, so hai.” Madeline scoffed and leaned back in her chair, as far as the cuffs would allow her. “I don’t understand why you think I’ll just tell you where your newest fucktoy is, Fee. That’s stupid, even for you. It’s the only bit of leverage I currently have. I’m going to savor it.”

“Understand that you’re here for aiding and abetting as an accessory to multiple murders. We can also charge you for withholding information related to multiple murders, which, as far as MMES is concerned, is a felony. Akiya, how many years is that?”

I didn’t break eye contact with Madeline while Akiya came over the speaker. “An additional twenty years.”

“Twenty additional years in prison or give us the information we want.”

Madeline sneered and jerked her head to the side. “No plea deal then?”

“Not after last time when you withheld more information from us. I hope you’ll enjoy the additional sentence Akiya gave you, by the way.” I curled my upper lip. “Orange always looked dreadful on you.”

She turned her head towards the floor and gripped her left elbow with her right hand. “I’ll need my phone and something to write with. The locations are saved in my maps. They may not all be there, but the properties Richard and I acquired together are.” She watched Goldie leave the room before turning her head back to me. “Just think: if you had been this confident in yourself when we met, you never would have had to deal with me.”

“Then I regret not having this demeanor with you to begin with, almost as much as I regret ever knowing you.”

Propping her elbow up on the armchair, she smirked at me and closed her eyes. “You’re a cruel man, Detective Elliot.”

But the cruelty provided a list of possible locations Mew could be in: an abandoned steel mill, several homes speckled around Jacksonville, an abandoned church, a law office, and (an especially curious one) a hospital wing.

“They’ve conned the lawyers, the preachers, and the doctors,” Goldie muttered, reading down the list of addresses. “It would explain the morphine at the motel, though. That’s probably what they injected Barty with.”

“Everyone these days want to either be a vampire or be paid stupid amounts of money to keep their mouths shut,” Madeline provided smugly. “Is there anything else I can do for you kind detectives? Clean your shoes? Wash your cars?” Those gray eyes rolled in their sockets when I stood, ignoring her. “You’re welcome, by the way. I could have just taken the extra sentence. Not like I have anything waiting for me outside of this prison, anyway.”

“Perhaps use this time to reflect upon why that is, then.” I left her with that, following Goldie back into the observation room with Colin and Cadence.

Cadence held her hands out for the legal pad with the addresses on it. “The next plane leaves in about half an hour. We can get back to Florida in about two hours, then we’ll try the steel mill—”

“Cade.” Goldie said her name before I could, shouldering the guilt of crushing Cade’s hopes of getting this started immediately. A wilted carnation sprung from Goldie’s temple. “We can’t do this tonight. It’s already midnight. It’ll be about three when we land, then we’d have to drive, and it’s. . .it’s not good timing right now.”

Burgundy eyes flicked to me, possibly hoping for a different answer from the supervisor. I nodded. “Goldie’s right. You need to go home and get some sleep, too. Take care of Skippy and Connie. They just got you back. You also need to pack a bag with a few days’ worth of clothes. I would also suggest packing Mew’s gun with you, in case you need it.”

Shoving the notebook into my chest, Cadence huffed and left the room, muttering vibrant curse words directed towards the BRF and Madeline. There was a quip about me, but nothing compared to what she had uttered about the cult. Goldie and I glanced at each other, Goldie lifting her chin at me, telling me I was the one who had to follow after her.

Cadence had made it up the hallway before I caught up with her. She was leaning against the wall, sniffling and wiping at her eyes with the heel of her hand but trying her damndest to hide it from me. “Can’t get a second alone,” she croaked, a stiff laugh coming from her throat.

“I’m sure I’m responsible for you, by default,” I responded, propping myself next to her, shoulder to shoulder. She slid down the wall, and I followed suit, sitting on the cold tile with our backs pressed against the wallpaper. “I know you’re upset. I want to get him, too. But it’s not—”

“I know. It would be stupid to go against a bloodthirsty vampire cult without proper preparation.” Her chest heaved with her sigh. “I know it’s dumb as fuck because it’s something Mew would do without thinking. The idiot—” She rubbed her temples and squeezed her eyes shut. Dejection settled on her damp face. “He’s so fucking stupid and stubborn.”

“Extremely stubborn.”

She reached for my hand, lacing her fingers through mine and giving a tight squeeze. Her skin was like her brother’s: golden, hot, and faintly sweet smelling. She had the aromatics of red wine and cedar, deep and robust.

I was thankful she didn’t smell like Mew.

We sat there until Goldie and Colin came to find us, making our way back to the small landing strip to head back to the states. Cadence held my hand the whole time.

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