Gearing up!

I was getting strange looks as I walked through the city. I mean, it's not often you see a guy carrying a shield and axe on his back with a sword on his waist I guess. I had to put the knives inside of a canvas bag I had around my shoulder. My next stop was for some 'apparel' that was much needed.

As I strode across the street a vampire bumped into and hissed before noticing my sword. Shaking his head he simply continued on.

I blew out a breath before turning into an alleyway. A bright red door that looked like it was freshly painted stood out amongst the dull grey walls. I headed for the door and knocked before opening it.

"Just come in. We're still open." A gruff, feminine voice shouted.

I stepped into a single room that wasn't dissimilar to a jewelry store. Rings, earrings, and necklaces lined the center of the room inside of table cases, while articles of clothing were hung up on the walls. There was a woman behind the booth in the far left side of the room who looked to be in her late fifties, but witches tend to have an average lifespan of around three hundred years. She was probably around two hundred.

"Whatcha lookin' for?" She asked me pointedly.

"A ring that can store kinetic energy and a necklace that can store magic, as well as a jacket that's enchanted with reinforcement magic- preferably strong enough to stop bullets- and has six slots for six, six inch throwing knives." I responded.

She tapped her finger on her chin for a moment. "Alright, we got the kinetic ring. I'll make the necklace, and as for the jacket… I got the perfect thing!" She walked to the side and picked up a black leather jacket before throwing it on the counter. "This is exactly what you're looking for!"

"…Can I have a different one?"

"Huh? Why? What's wrong with this one?" She sounded offended.

"Don't get me wrong, it's an amazing piece, but… I don't particularly like leather."

"I can transfigure it for a small fee. What style would you prefer?"

"Oh, that's perfect, then." I said as I opened my back and placed the knives on the counter. "Make it a bomber jacket with fleece inside, if you would. I'm more worried about my back than I am my front."

"Alright." She looked up at me. "You got the money for all this?"

I smiled at her. "Depends on the price?"

"The rings gonna be three, the necklace, five. As for the jacket… I would say around fifteen?"

"Fifteen thousand, huh? How strong is it?"

"Should stop a werewolf punch or a hundred and fifty year old vamp. Bullets are definitely a given."

I grinned at her. "I'll give you twenty five. I'll make sure to come back here if I need anything else."

She grinned back at me. "Always welcome paying customers! It'll take around and hour so you can either wait, or come back later."

"I'll come back tomorrow. Need to go withdraw the cash anyway." I turned around and started for the door.

"It'll be ready by seven." She said before I walked back into the alley.

Now how do i get twenty five thousand dollars in less than a day? There were a lot of options out there but I think I should settle on something that isn't legal but also isn't illegal. Bounty hunting. A fairly easy profession for me, considering I had thousands of years of experience!

Don't get me wrong, I've been around for a LONG time. I'm not the richest guy in the world or anything but I can pay off entirety of the US's debt if I sold everything. The main issue was that everything I had was inside of a different dimension and the entrance to said dimension was in Europe. Think of it as a supernatural Wells Fargo. I suppose I could ask James to portal me over, but I wasn't helpless enough to ask him for something so trivial. What can I say? Pride is a sin, after all.

So where does one even start bounty hunting? The SCO is usually a safe bet, but considering I was on a time crunch and didn't want to wait the week and a half it took to actually get the money, I decided to do something a bit more… personal.

See, Chicago had two 'vampire houses' that were set up for the new fledglings when news of vampires being real was released to the public. There used three but after House Cadogan and House Grey went to war with each other, Grey got demolished and the remaining vamps were absorbed into the remaining two, House Cadogan and House Navarre.

I figured there had to be some bad blood somewhere in between! Do I care who is right or who is wrong? Nope! Well, maybe. It depends, honestly. If the two remaining houses are doing their job correctly, protecting the vampires and teaching the fledglings, then I would probably leave them alone. Unfortunately, they weren't.

I strode out of the alleyway to hail a cab and told him to go to House Navarre. The drive took longer than usual because it was rush hour but after around forty minutes I saw it.

The House, and it was a mansion, took up a whole block. The building was surrounded by an intricately wrought, ten-foot-high, black iron fence. The interior of the fence was lined with shrubs and hedges, so the lawns were shielded from public view. The House itself was gigantic, three pale limestone stories leading to a slate mansard roof. There was a turret on one corner and tall rectangular windows ringed the floors. Gabled dormer windows and widows' walks gave the top floor a Gothic look. They had a couple of vamps stationed, with two at every corner of the building and one in the center, outside the fence.

I stepped out and handed the cabbie a hundred before walking up to the two vamps at the entrance. They both wore a dark red uniform that had hints of orange and purple on the arms. They tilted their heads at me as I approached before looking at each other and whispering in confusion.

"Human." One said.

"Yeah, obviously. But what does he want?" The other replied.

"To talk to Mr. Or Mrs. Navarre." I said. They both turned to look at me in shock. I guess they thought I wouldn't be able to hear them from so far away.

"Do… you have some kind… of appointment?" The one on the left asked.

"I doubt I can make an appointment with someone who's number I don't have. Just tell her that I'm here for a 'job.'"

The vamp pulled out a walkie-talkie and spoke into it. "Uh, Joseph? We got a human here asking to meet with Mrs. Navarre about some kind of job?"

A male voice garbled through the device. "So? If it's a human, He's got no business here. Send him away."

They both looked at me before the one opposite the vamp who spoke said. "Well, you heard him."

"Yeah… No. Tell her I'm here for a job. And tell Joseph to loosen up a bit, while your at it."

The one on the left sighed after putting the walkie-talkie pack into his pocket. "Sir? We don't want to be violent. Please leave the premises."

I tilted my head at him before taking out my sword. "Well, I don't either, but I would appreciate it if you simply told her? It's not hard."

They tensed as my silver sword shone in the light while a bunch of pedestrians watched with fear or interest. I'm pretty sure I heard someone yell 'I'm betting on the human!' In the distance.

"Now, listen. You might get some scratches on me, but you'll be dead. Your two choices consist of one, get your sire, and two, die. Pretty simple if you ask me."

The one on the right launched at me. I simply rose my blade and he stopped dead in his tracks with my sword at his neck.

"See? I didn't even cut your skin. There's no bad blood between me and Navarre. Unless you attack me again, of course?" I tightened my grip on the hilt.

Just as I did, another vamp came at me from my side. I quickly twisted my body and felt his claws scratch my stomach before slicing down and cutting his head off.

"Well, that's the scratch I guess!" I said as I grabbed the sword underhand and threw it like a javelin at the remaining vampire. It pierced his heart.

"Damn. Poor guys didn't know what was good for them, I guess." I muttered as five more vamps surrounded me.

"Hey, guys. Listen, they attacked me first, yeah?"

They ran at me simultaneously, swinging their katanas and blocking my retreat. I quickly bent down on a knee and drew my shield from my back and blocked all of them. I heard my arm break from the impact.

*Fuck that hurts!* I thought as I slid back.

I got out from between them and swung my sword at the first one I saw. He parried me as his buddy swung his sword at my side. I flung my shoulder up with my broken arm to block. I managed to shove him back with my shield and felt my bones grind against muscle and flesh within my arm. I grunted as I switched my target to him and cut his throat. It wouldn't kill him but it would definitely distract him. He fell back for a moment. Another came at me from my front and I quickly dodged his attack while thrusting my sword forward to his heart. The remaining three circled around me.

"WHAT THE BLAZES IS GOING ON HERE?!" A woman shouted.

I spared a look at the front gate and as I did one of the vampires lunged at me. I dodged back and cut his head off.

"Dumbass." I said as I slung the shield on my back and turned to the woman. "Mrs. Navarre, I presume?"

This one was pretty old. Not as old as Vlad, but well within her thousandth years. It always felt like electricity, like rubbing your socks on a carpet. Her eyes shot to mine and glowed for a moment.

"Don't bother. It won't work." I said with a grin. "Can we talk business, now? Or will you send more vamps to their deaths?"

I sheathed the sword and grazed the hilt of my axe with a finger as I released my bloodlust. My eye shone scarlet.

She frowned as she spoke. "You kill four of my brood and you expect to… 'talk?'"

"Yes. It was self defense." I paused for a moment. "Well I don't know about the first two. But they did attack me first!"

"What. Do. You. Want." She said through grit teeth.

"A job." I said. "Oh, and tell Joseph to get off his high horse!"

"That," she pointed at the vamp who's head I cut off. "Would be Joseph."

"Oh. Then, just a job."

"Human…" she scowled and started to stalk towards me. "I will kill you. Joseph was my House's Protector!"

She ran at me with full speed. She was a blur as I drew my axe. I swung at her and barely scratched her arm.

"Foolish. That axe is a worse weapon than the sword!" She yelled as she used her nails to scrape my already moving head.

I didn't respond as I whipped my arm to the side and again barely scratched her stomach. She hissed before suddenly stopping. She looked down at the scratch on her arm in shock.

"That axe is not silver…" she breathed.

"No, it isn't." I replied with a grin as I caressed the blade. "It's a bitch of a weapon, though!"

She scoffed as she lowered her arms. "I guess we are at an impasse. What kind of job?"

"What did he say, again?" I said as she looked at me in confusion. I quoted the original owner of the weapon. "Thou hast made this offer over-late, if thou wouldst make peace: for now I have drawn Dáinsleif, which the dwarves made, and which must cause a man's death every time it is bared, nor ever fails in its stroke; moreover, the wound heals not if one be scratched with it."