Emilia Vos & The Swipers' Tale

Part 5: Hide the Knives

Emilia sat on the couch with a remote in her hand. Her dad had been kind enough to keep clothes stocked for her, just in case. Currently, she sat in an oversize pink sweatshirt and grey leggings. Emilia kissed her dad on the cheek when she found her favorite pair of fuzzy socks in a drawer. She added some extra warmth to her feet with a pair of sloth slippers. Emilia needed something to glance at and smile. The cute little sloth faces with hooded eyes did just the trick as their arms circles her foot in a hug.

"Always need to be ready." He sheepishly smiled before leaving the room to check on Jayden.

Emilia had stayed up to watch Jayden until about 5 am and then her dad sent her away to sleep. She had just woken up and now nursed a cup of coffee in her hands. The crazy rock man would be coming by later this afternoon with his rocks and data.

She wrinkled her nose. Joy. Maybe he would beat the Hunters Guild here.

Emilia flipped back and forth between two news channels, monitoring the developing stories and the spin newscasters wanted to make on it. She knew the conservatives would see her as a needed vigilante in a world where the government and police weren't taking care of the mystical problem. She just rolled her eyes at how "the mystical problem" had become lumped into one group. They obviously did not care for research.

The line, "If it ain't human—it's a problem," popped into her mind, making her smile. She missed some of the twang people had in her hometown of Houston, Texas. And then the debates that would follow over pints of beer and other alcoholic beverages.  Her nails tapped on the coffee cup in thought for a moment before pushing the memories away.

Emilia's eyebrows furrowed as one of the more liberal newscasters flashed to the alley from last night.

A man in a grim suit looked at the screen. "We just got word of new developments in London. Last night in SoHo, an altercation occurred outside of Red Light, a well-known nightclub for mystical creatures. Let us go speak to Charles on the scene."

The scene changed to Charles, standing outside the alley. Traffic sounded around him as he spoke. "Thanks, Brian. We have learned that an altercation occurred between vampires from the Petrova coven and hunters last night. Eyewitnesses said they saw a vampire lead a human woman out of the club and into this alley. The security cameras were able to gain this image of her."

Emilia tilted her head while looking at the fuzzy picture of herself. She really did like her outfit from last night. Now, she will need to get in touch with a defense seamstress to get a new one since her cover had been blown. A lady can't hunt in an outfit her prey may recognize. Her lips pressed together after a moment; a few people in the guild might recognize her if they looked close enough.

I really should have said no to this. She thought.

"From there, it is assumed a hunter saved the said woman from death. A statement from the Petrova family stated that they were saddened by the actions of their clan members and understood why hunters had to act in the best interest of humanity. The family stated they would continue to work for improved vampire and human relations. No other statements have been gained from any of the other major families at this time. There is also no word on which hunter community executed this sting operation."

The screen split between the two announcers.  Brian, the news announcer in the studio, spoke.

 "Thanks, Charles." He smiled at the camera.  Brian gave his paper the customary tap on the table before leaning on it.

Charle's picture disappeared from the screen, and Brian continued. "What a sad occurrence for everyone involved. I think this would be a good time to discuss all things mystical with our resident—"