"Do you think we're playing?" Asked the black figure standing in the middle of the room... the room that was covered in blood... her blood!
Lillian tried moving, but her body was unresponsive, and their was something burning into her flesh she felt too weak to struggle against it.
"Who are you!?"
The question echoed around the room.
"Why are you doing this to me." Lillian cried weakly. Her throat felt like a bunch of knives had been stabbed into it, making every word a battle to get out.
The figure twisted and warped, but just as fast as it had happened, it had returned back to being the menacing black figure with one change. It was now wearing that clown mask.
"Who are you!?"
"I don't know!"
******
"I don't know!"
Lex was startled awake. The only light in the hotel room came from the bit of dawn that peeked through the blinders. (Someone must have turned off the TV). She looked around alert, but sleep still wrapped around her brain like a warm blanket.
"Please! No! I swear I don't!" Lillian screamed. That woke Lex up fully. She flew out of the bed, ran over to the light, and flicked it on. She ran back over to Lillian, who was thrashing, sweating, and crying profusely, and she was.. asleep!
"Lillian, wake up! It's just a dream!" Lex tried, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her.
"No, no, PLEASE!"
"Lillian!" Lex screamed, slapping her.
Lillian's eyes shot open. "It's a dream, Lilly. It was just a dream. You're safe, I promise."
She stopped her thrashing, but she was shaking like she had just taken an ice bath.
"Lex..."
BANG! The door went flying across the room, slamming into the far wall, and Lilly jumped, but Lex kept her senses. She whipped out the pistol she had under her pillow turned and...
"Kaeron!?" She exclaimed, finger hovering just above the trigger.
Kaeron stood menacingly in the doorway, literal steam pouring from off his body.
"Where are they?" He growled.
******
Lex was a hard woman to say no to. Lillian picked through the alarmingly low-cut t-shirts and exhaled loudly.
How had she let Lex convince her to do this, and why had she even bothered looking for help from Kaeron when he was, like usual, no help at all. She wasn't sure what Lex had on him, but whatever it was must have been huge because when Lex "suggested" that they go shopping, all he did was grunt, look at her for a moment in that way he does when they do that creepy thing when they argue with each other by staring at each other, and when she didn't acknowledge his attempt, he just left the room. Of course, Lillian had had no chance against Lex's talent of persuasion. Not on her own. Lillian probably said "no" over fifteen times, and yet here they were, shopping for indecent clothing that Lex with her... witchy mind tricks, would somehow convince her to wear outside like a corner girl.
She sighed as she glanced over her shoulder to where Kaeron was talking to the gorgeous vampire employee; the same employee who was supposed to be helping her, but Lillian couldn't even blame the woman. If she had never gotten to know Kaeron and found out what a drug addicted, murderous lech he was, she'd be all over him as well. The way he fit those jeans, or how his shirt hugs his muscles like it was trying to keep him for itself, and his eyes...
"Disgusting, isn't it."
Lillian jumped, turning her head to face Lex. How long had she been there?
"He has to flirt with every woman he sees. He's such a fucking pig."
Good she didn't notice her basically drooling over him like some school girl. "Not like you're any better." Lillian accused, returning to her fruitless search.
Lex scoffed. "As if. I have standards."
Lillian snorted. "Right so... that loser back in Parthist, what would you call him?"
"Cute." Lex said, shoving her.
"Rude." Lillian said back, putting her all into shoving her back, but Lex, being the ape of a woman she is, made Lillians best attempt at moving her feel futile, and she did so infuriatingly effortlessly.
They laughed, but Lex quickly stopped and frowned. "You still haven't found anything? What have you been doing this whole time?"
"We've been here for less than ten minutes." Lillian countered.
"Yeah, and," she lifted the four different tops and four pairs of pants that Lillian hadn't noticed she had sat on the rack in front of them. "In that time, I found all of these. There is no excuse for this." She sighed. "Follow me."
******
"I think that It's like, super awesome, what you're doing for your sister's mentally ill friend." The clothes girl whose name Kaeron had clearly already forgotten rambled on. Besides that last part (which was probably the highlight of Kaerons week), Kaeron had been basically ignoring the stuck-up little vamp girl and glaring at his sister, who still wouldn't give him the time of day even though he took them to this stupid place without argument, and he didn't even press the two lovebirds about whatever the fuck Lambs freak out was about this morning, but nope, she just keeps freezing him out, treating him worse than the time's he had beaten up the slop she at one point or another considered as her "boyfriends."
She was treating him like their mother, and at this rate. He was gonna force her to talk to him.
"That's me, Mr. Thoughtful." He smiled at her, and she quickly looked away. She wasn't his type, but lucky for her, thanks to the head ache this morning and the copious amounts of drugs he planned on taking after this shopping session added on top of this stupid plan where Lamb lays around until Lex decides that she wants to stop giving the girl her healing vagina fingerings, so that they could finally stop wasting time and exposing them by staying in places where they could be seen by anybody.
He figured they'd probably be stuck in this shit hole for another night, so if she was game. He was, too.
But he found that all the talking was starting to annoy him. It wasn't her fault. Most of the women he slept with eventually ended up boring him. All the others had become way too interested in him (which is a major turn-off). Only a small few of his conquests didn't turn out to be completely insane.
He was a piece of shit. He knew it, all the women he fucked around with knew it, and they liked it, and he had grown to like proving just how big of an asshole he could be.
Something in Kaeron ticked.
"Yeah, which I think is really great. I wish there was a way to show you how great I think you are."
He scoffed. "You wouldn't survive being fucked by me."
"Shhh. Don't be so loud." She reprimanded him, putting a finger to her lips.
Something in him ticked again. She was nowhere hot enough to tell him what to do.
He grabbed the finger she had put to lips and got up in her face. She tried jerking back, but he grabbed the back of her head, locking her in place.
They were tucked into the corner of the clothing store. It probably looked as if he were kissing. The smell of her quickly evaporating arousal danced with the apricot of her hair, and the vanilla of the soap she had scrubbed herself with this morning. It was intoxicating but replaced with another scent he knew and enjoyed just as well, if not better. Fear.
He leaned further in carving the softness of her neck with his finger as she stiffened and looked at him, eyes wide with terror.
"Don't ever. Tell me what to do. Or I'll snap this pretty little neck of yours without a second thought. Got it?" He said sweetly.
Tears had formed in her eyes, and he wanted to laugh. Scaring the weak always brought joy to his spirit. She nodded her head, and he let her go.
"So, are you still gonna put out or?"
She glared at him, turned, and basically ran to the opposite side of the store.
"Figures." He shrugged.
"More like typical." Lex said from behind him, venom laced in the statement.
"Am I supposed to feel ashamed or something?" He snapped.
"No, of course not. In order for that to happen, you'd have to be able to feel anything beyond yourself." She snapped back.
He scoffed and faced her. "Really Lex? Are you seriously going to be this way? I've always been a shitty person, I thought you of all people would understand that."
"Nope, no way, we are here to shop for Lillian not to discuss the mountain of things that YOU did wrong. Besides, if you still haven't figured it out why you're in the wrong here, then it's clear to me that you never knew me as well as I thought you did." She shook her head, and the sadness in her eyes nearly crippled him. "And I might not get to be mad about that, but... you know what, never mind, I'm not doing this right now."
"Lex."
She lifted a hand, stopping him in his tracks. "We will talk about this later."
Lamb exited the dressing area, and Kaeron almost didn't notice her with the blood roaring in his ears and anger clouding his vision. Literally. There was steam pouring off of him and blocking his sight, the Phoenix ash he had sniffed in the car, dulling the abnormally good eyesight gifted to him by his Dragon Shifter genes.
Something ticked inside him again.
"Fine."
Lex walked over to Lamb and squeaked, telling her how good she looked, and blah blah.
He couldn't wait to get the two of them back to the safety of the new hotel they'd be staying in tonight.
He needed a good demon hunt to keep him from locking his sister in a basement and torturing her until she grew the fuck up and talked to him.
He returned to his post at the corner of the room and closed his eyes. It was going to be a long rest of his day.
******
Lillian was mortified. She could feel the heat across her entire body, and it was most likely making her the same color as the Kool-Aid man.
Lillian had been proud of herself when she had found a top that she knew would get lex off her back, and she even kind of liked it, even if it was trashy, so she was happy to show it to Lex who had just so happened to find a pair of... jean shorts! With holes in them to complete the look.
And then. Lex had used her constant arguing with Kaeron like a weapon against Lillian's stupid bleeding heart. And it worked.
Stupid, stupid. Why are you so stupid. She screamed inside.
Lex had convinced her to wear the outfit out to the car, and now they were walking down the hall, and she could feel all of the judging eyes tracking her every step, staring at the fullness of her backside and the plump of her breast.
Her eyes were glued to the ground, where they would remain for the remainder of their time in this city, but she could feel Lex's gaze on her, and she knew that Lex wasn't going to let her off that easy.
"Come on, Lil, we're two of the hottest girls in this place. You have to wave at the people it's not for you; it's for them. Trust me, they love this stuff."
"Yeah, thanks for the offer, but I'm trying to focus on pretending that I'm the only person in the store."
"Lil. The whole point of this was to show you that you have nothing to hide. You're beautiful inside and out."
"Yeah, well, the beauty outside wants to be inside and locked behind a steel door, with no windows."
Lex sighed. "Look, I won't force you, but I'm just saying it would be a waste to be wearing the clothes, but not getting to feel any of what it has to offer. But it's up to you, Lil."
Damn it, Lex! Why do you have to be so freaking persistent, you inconsiderate jerk!
"F. Fine. I'll... wave."
Lex squeaked. "Thank you, Lil, you won't regret this. In fact, I think that it'll really help get you out of that shell of yours."
"Right, doing the slut walk will most definitely help with getting me out of my "shell."
"Yep. Now stop stalling and wave already."
Lillian shot her a look and took a breath. It was only a wave (in the most ungodly pair of clothes she had ever worn, but it wasn't like she was filming a porno or something).
She slowly lifted her head and faced the faces, and she was angry for an entirely different reason.
Everyone was staring at Lex! Which is normally how it goes, yes, but Lillian had never dressed up like she was one of these easy girls out here, so now that she had, she should be getting a few more looks her way... Right?
Sometimes, she hated Lex.
******
The moon was out again, and Kaeron could smell blood in the air, and before the night was over, he would be the cause for that smell becoming overwhelming.