Part Nine
Clive was a bartender. He had always been a bartender and he would probably always be a bartender. It was his job to serve people drinks and to pretend to be interested in their troubles. It was also his job to toss troublemakers and humans out of his establishment, so when a very uncertain looking human carefully entered through the door he stepped in front of the bar with every intent to show the human the door again. But seconds later another human-looking figure entered. Clive knew this one. It was one of those young werewolves roaming around town and they generally liked to hang out here after a successful hunt. So Clive reasonably assumed that the blonde was a werewolf as well and got behind his bar again.
"What'll it be Sam?" He asked the dark-haired werewolf as she took a seat.
"I'll have a coke." She answered.
One eyebrow went up in surprise, well, for so far as reptilian creatures _have_ eyebrows. "A coke? Long time since I poured one of those."
"But you do have it, right?" Sam asked persistent.
"Of course. What kind of bartender would I be if I didn't have everything my clients could possible want?" Clive directed his attention to the blonde, who still seemed rather uncomfortable. "And what would you like, miss?"
"I think I'll have a coke as well."
"Two cokes in one night? I might have to order more." Clive leaned forward and placed his arms on the bar. "Tell me, what are you?" He asked the blonde.
"She's human." Sam said. "But she's also a member of my pack, so don't get any ideas about throwing her out."
Knowing very well how much damage an angry werewolf pack could do to his establishment Clive wisely kept his mouth shut. So instead he just poured the drinks and left the girls alone.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Sam, what kind of place is this exactly?" Nicole asked.
"A non-human bar, what else?"
"And we're here because…?"
"Because I need info on that vamp. And this is the best place to get it." Sam answered.
"The bartender, what is he?" Nicole asked, indicating the large green scaly creature currently giving some six-armed thing a glass with a red liquid in it.
"Who, Clive? He's a gargoyle."
"Right." Nicole said slowly. "How come I never noticed stuff like this before?"
"Because you're human." Was Sam's simple explanation. "No offence, but it's really not that difficult to hide from you."
At that moment something that Nicole could only describe as a 'slimy yellow guy' thought it necessary to introduce himself. Apparently no matter what species you are, there will always be males who think they're God's Gift To Women. His less-than-subtle lines like 'Can I get you a drink?' or 'Come here often?' were starting to make Sam pretty angry and Nicole suspected an outburst any moment. Fortunately it didn't come since a beautiful voice rung through the air saying: "Give it up Fergus, they have no interest in you."
The yellow thing looked angry at the speaker for a moment before returning to his own table. The speaker turned out to be a rather tall, slender woman. She could've passed for a normal human if it wasn't for the fact that she was completely white. Literally. She gracefully made her way to the bar and sat down next to Sam.
"Thanks Selina." Sam said.
"No problem. Tell me, who is the girl that has stolen your heart?"
Sam smiled. "Nic meet Selina, Selina meet Nicole."
"Hi." Nicole greeted the strange woman.
"Pleasure. Now then, how can I help you?"
"Some vamp's been eating off one of my friends. I was hoping you could help me out."
The woman's forehead furrowed into a frown. "Vampires usually don't come here. Mainly because we kill them on the spot. But I have heard of a female vampire coming into town about two weeks ago. I don't know where she is, but I do know she wants something very, very badly. She's also very powerful. A young cub like you is no match for her. If you face her you _will_ die."
~~~~~~~~~~
"That was too weird for words." Were the first words Nicole said after leaving the bar.
"I'm sorry. I should've given advance warning I suppose." Sam said.
"It's OK. Just never do it again." Nicole was silent for a few moments. "You're gonna go after that vampire, aren't you?"
"I have to. She almost turned Lily and I'm gonna make her pay for it."
"Didn't you hear what that woman said? You'll die!" Nicole almost sounded desperate.
"Could be." Sam said casually.
"You can't do this to me Sam." Nicole sounded angry once again. "You can't just go off and get yourself killed."
"Watch me."
"Sam, I…" Nicole took a deep breath. If she was going to say this, she wasn't going to say it in anger. "I love you. God knows why, but I do. And I can't lose that. Not so soon, not ever. Why can't you just let someone else take care of it? I mean, you can bring your entire pack to back you up, right?"
"Yes. But I won't. This is _my_ responsibility and _I_ will take care of it."
Nicole sighed. "Fine. Go. But I'll be coming with you. If you're going to die, then at least have the decency to let me die with you."
"No. I have to do this on my own and that's final."
The rest of the walk was filled with silence.
~~~~~~~~~~
Nicole stared at the rapidly departing figure of Sam. She knew that there was no way that she could stop the girl. But she'd be damned if she didn't try. Sam could start searching tomorrow night at the earliest. It was likely she wasn't going to find the vampire in one night. And Nicole was sure she could've figured something out by the time she did.
The blonde was about to sneak back into her house when somewhere someone suddenly clapped.
"Bravo. What a touching performance. I was quite moved by it." A woman stepped out of the shadows. She had flaming red hair, which only accentuated her incredibly pale face. "But I already know how the story ends. You see, the vampire suddenly appears out of the darkness, takes the girl and leaves. The heroine vows revenge of course, but she will be too late. For by the time she reaches the vampire the girl is already turned and the heroine, unable to kill the woman she loves, dies at her hands. It is such a tragic tale." The woman wiped away a tear that wasn't there. She quickly rushed over to Nicole and in one swift blow knocked her unconscious. She easily hauled the body over her shoulder and walked away.