Chapter 26: Bone's Concern/The Elder's Elusive Son

Valene:

Even with a full day left to prepare it seemed to feel like mere hours. Before I could blink it was suddenly the night of Harlyn’s gathering and it seemed that the whole borough of Shadow Veil seemed to be abuzz about it.

Although it took no small amount of effort on everyone’s part, we managed to finish decorating right in the nick of time. Never mind the fact that the forecast called for chilly weather today, though nothing too ruinous.

While everyone was getting ready, I was tasked to head to Bone’s to make sure that everything was well-placed and ready to go.

Master Wade had insisted that I take a vehicle instead of taking a cab and since we were so strapped for time, I did.

I pulled up outside of the bar and looked at the door. I hardly stepped foot in the place since the incident that night with the intruders and when I did, hardly a word was spoken between myself and the staff, Herry, included. It was as if they all were afraid of me now, and to be honest…I couldn’t blame them.

Placing the gear in the park, I took a deep breath and exited the car. I started for the entrance when I heard something…someone call to me.

It was soft and haunting, this voice, so low as a whisper and could hardly be deciphered as male or female, though my gut told me that it was the ladder. I stopped and turned around, looking around to see if there was anyone behind me. A few of the locals who frequented the bar knew my name, but even then it was but a hand full of them.

There was nowhere to hide where Bone’s bar was. The alley between his establishment and the abandoned building next to it was the only other place and whatever I heard was not coming from that direction. It was coming from…the forest. Was it?

It had been a while since the feeling of being watched. Then again, it was hard to notice at all with so much that had been going on lately.

“Valene?”

Pushing my concerns to the back of my mind for later consideration and worry, I turned around to acknowledge my former manager. “Good afternoon, Herry.” I greeted with a small and unsure smile.

I wasn’t sure how he would respond to me. We barely shared a sentence between us since that incident at his bar, and since he knew who or what I truly was now, I wasn’t sure that how to interact; I was almost sure that he didn’t either.

“It’s getting dark outside, you probably shouldn’t be standing out here by yourself.” he said.

When he said this, I could do very little else but smile. Here I am, a vassal of high skill-a practically trained killer, and Herry still considered me a damsel. I chuckled, deciding that while it was fitting, I shouldn’t make the joke that he must have forgotten that I can take care of myself. I liked that he still felt some semblance of concern for me.

“I was just coming in, actually.” I approached him. He nodded and then opened his doors to me, allowing me space to enter. “Thank you, Herry.”

When I went in, I immediately looked around and was very impressed with the theme of things.

“Your place looks…amazing, Herry.” I complimented of the new renovations.

“Yes, I do love the upgrade,” he confessed as he stood next to me. “This was how I envisioned my place all along. I just never had the money to really fix it up.”

I looked at him. “Your place has always been nice, Herry.”

He smiled. “Always the kindest one in the room.”

I chuckled. “If telling the truth is what you consider kind-hearted, then I will be that for you, Herry.”

We both shared a small heckle before silence ensued again. “Your father is offering to expand the place into the abandoned building next door and maybe even the land next to it.”

“Wow, that-that’s huge!” I expressed. “Literally and figuratively,” I sensed hesitation. “You seem hesitant.”

Herry sighed, “You’re not here to hear my worries and concerns, Valene. Come, I’ll show you how everything is coming along with party.”

We started to walk, and as we did, Herry displayed the beautiful set up for Harlyn’s party. I gave him space to do his job before I returned the subject of his concerns.

“Everything looks amazing, Herry. I’m so grateful for your help in decorating, I really think that Master Wade will be pleased.” I smiled.

“We only followed your guideline, Valene.” Herry countered. “Honestly, I didn’t realize that you had such an eye for these things.”

“I simply consider it a requirement.” I made light of his compliment. “Now that you’ve shown me everything, I’d like to get back to what we were talking about before.”

“What’s that?” He asked as he directed one of his employees.

“Do you not want a bigger place, Bones?” I asked. It was when I asked this that he turned his gaze on me.

“Val, we don’t have to-”

“Tell me,” I pressed. Admittedly, I did not like seeing Herry in such a distressed state. He was a good man, and did not deserve the stress of whatever was on his mind.

With a harsh expel of breath, Herry continued walking and subtly gestured for me to follow him to the back where his office was. When he opened the door, he allowed me space to go in first before following and closing the door behind him.

I didn’t bombard him with questions when we were alone but instead waited for him to be ready to share his concerns with me.

Herry walked past me and around his desk, straightening papers before he finally spoke. “It’s just…it’s all too good to be true, Val.” he murmured.

I walked over to where his desk was and pulled up a chair. “What do you mean?” Suddenly, he was reluctant to speak and a gut feeling told me why. “Herry, you can speak freely around me. I am not going to divulge anything to anyone…including my Keeper.”

“Keeper…” he murmured. Where his eyes were averted to messy pile on his desk, he finally looked at me. “So that’s all you’ve been this whole entire time? A servant to the inhumans-or well…the inhuman?”

I was amused by his word use, but I could tell that something about this bothered him. I didn’t understand why.

“Yes,” I said.

Silence filled the air between us; I knew that he was thinking about the concept. My confirmation was the question that he asked next.

“That doesn’t bother you? Being considered someone’s property?”

“It does…at times.” I didn’t know whether those times were the majority or minority, but he didn’t ask me to quantify so I didn’t.

“I assume more than you let on since you weren’t upfront with me about who he was to you in the first place.” Herry countered.

“It was his idea to keep my position in his life a secret.”

“Why though? Is he ashamed of who you are?”

I never thought about it that way, but I could only assume that Master Wade wasn’t. “He thought that in my not sharing my true identity, maybe I’d have some semblance of a normal life.” I told Herry. This was the gist of what I was told.

“He wanted you to have a normal life then why enslave you in the first place, Val?” he asked. “Why not let you go and live a free life? I thought that only bad humans served under these people-humans that were criminals. Don’t tell me you volunteered!”

Had I not known better I’d judge by Herry’s tone that my being a criminal was more believable than surrendering myself willingly to the cause of inhumans.

“I neither volunteered nor was sentenced,” I reassured him.

“Then how…how did you get mixed up into all of this, Val?” he asked with visible concern. “You’re such…you’re such a good kid-or at least that’s…”

I could tell that he was becoming overwhelmed by this subject but I also knew that he would not end it until he had some sort of clarity.

“It’s…complicated, Herry-my involvement in this. Just know that…while I am a vassal, I assure you that my Master does take good care of me and-”

“Taking good care of you? Valene, I watched you slaughter a group of inhumans like-like it was nothing! Is that taking good care of you? I-I know that it is not my place to question this. I’m sorry Valene, I-I just-”

“Have you ever heard of a gold blood, Herry?” I asked.

“A…a what?”

“Gold blood,” I stood from where I sat. When he shook his head, I smiled and nodded, figuring as much. “How could you?” I muttered to myself more than him. “Gold blood shouldn’t mean a thing to a human.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a human with a rare blood type. Not O negative or AB or anything like that. It’s…it’s a blood type that cannot be identified, but is…special in some way.” I scoffed. “At least special enough to be a delicacy for inhumans.”

I hadn’t realized that I was facing the door until I turned around to meet Herry’s eyes gain.

“If I cut myself right here…right now…I’d probably lure every inhuman within a three-block radius to this place. I have to wear scent-blocking fragrances and clothing to keep my essence from driving them mad.”

“That is why you steer clear of anything to do with knives.” I shrugged at his answer, haphazardly confirming his realization. “That only makes me fear for your safety, even more, Valene,” he said to me. “You…being around all of those inhumans with that stuff flowing through your veins?! Doesn’t that frighten you?”

“I am careful, Bones,” I said to him. “But…honestly, I guess I am not as frightened as I should be because my Master makes sure that I am safe. Aside from the deadly weapons training that I received from him,” I tried to make light of a heavy realization. “No one crosses him. He hasn’t freed me because he’s afraid that if he does then all of those that are held at bay because of his status will come for me in full force when I am released from his guardianship.”

“That makes sense,” Herry said but I could tell that it didn’t sit right with him. “I still think that he can find another way of giving you your freedom without…”

“Herry,” I interrupted him. “I am fine.”

“Are you, though, Valene?” He asked wearily.

“I used to watch you sometimes, and…I could see the weight that you were carrying and I still do.” He sighed. “You may be fine, but you are not happy. If your Master cared that much about you then…wouldn’t he be able to see that?”

There was no winning this argument with Herry and that was okay because I wasn’t blindly loyal enough not to see that he had a point. Still, I thought that this would be a could cross in the word to veer into another subject, one that I sensed was the root of this conversation.

“Are you afraid that you will end up in my shoes? That Master Wade will eventually own you?” I asked. “Is that where all of this doubt stems?”

Herry stood there in momentary silence and then asked. “Will he, Val? Is all of this a segue into ownership? Because if it is, I want no part of it! I will close up shop right now and sell it to the highest bidder.” He quickly decided. “Did I…did I make a deal with the devil?”

It was sad to see this man who had been struggling for so long finally catch a break and be too afraid to accept it as it was. To be honest, I didn’t blame him, though. It was hard to accept the good when one spent so much time in their life enduring the bad.

I stood in front of my former boss and touched his arm with compassion. “Bones, you are a good guy and Master Wade sees that. He likes to help good humans as according to him to run into one is too far and between. He is not looking for no more from you than what you have already done.”

“How do I know that, Val? How…how am I supposed to believe that? I-”

“You don’t have to, Herry, I’m certainly not asking you to. The only thing that I can promise is that you will see that I am telling the truth.”

Herry rubbed stressfully at his balding head and sighed. “We’ll see,” he said.

“That’s good enough for me,” I replied and moved to head off. “I’m going to let Master Wade know about the progress. I’ll see you later, Bones.”

I opened the door to leave. “Val,” he called me. I paused and turned around to acknowledge him. “Please…please be careful, okay?”

“Always,”

There was very little time left before Harly’s party, so I quickly left Bone’s place and headed to the car.

“So you’re the human that everyone’s been talking about.” I heard someone say.

Immediately, I took both blades subtly and turned around to see who it was that addressed me.

When I turned around there stood a tall and pale yet extremely attractive young man staring at me in the distance.

“You’re cuter than I thought you’d be.”

I made sure not to stare directly at him because I gathered the feeling that he was of some importance in Shadow Veil. Still, whether he was of importance or not, I would not unarm myself until I was sure that he meant me no harm.

“For a human,” he added in an extremely delayed fashion as he approached me. “You can put away your weapons, love,” he said to me. “I know that you’re off limits, so I won’t bite…at least for the time being.”

“Apologies, sir, I-”

“I’d think you a fool if you didn’t at least try to arm yourself against me,” he said. “So, no need to apologize.”

Sensing that he truly did mean me no harm-at least, in his words, for the time being, I discreetly put away my weapons. I bowed my head as I tried to remember the name that escaped me so. His father was an Elder of the highest degree and while his father’s presence was always prominently known, his son never bothered to show up.

“What is your name?”

“My name is Valene, sir.”

“Damian,” he said to me. “Call me Damian…or Master Damian, I guess.”

“Master Damian, it’s a pleasure. Is there something that I can help you with?”

“You’re quite…welcoming,” he approached me-if possible even closer. “For a gold blood. That is dangerous.”

“Well then maybe I should depart, sir. My Master is awaiting my attendance.” I said.

“Ah, right, you’re helping plan the spoiled little princess’s party. It is her coming-of-age, isn’t it?”

“It is the Mistress’s birthday.”

“Hm, well, then I guess I will see you then, Valene,” he said. “I look forward to further interaction. Till tonight,” he said and then disappeared.

As soon as he departed, I immediately lifted my gaze to see if I could catch him and I didn’t.

Being Master Lucius’s son, I already knew that this Damian character would be some semblance of trouble. I looked at my watch and then quickly turned to get into the car but before I did, I found my gaze wandering over to the wooded area across the street again. The feeling of me being watched hadn’t returned but the view of that forest brought back the reminder that it was a possibility.

With reluctance, I got into the car and quickly headed to the Wade estate to get ready for the night. Of course, Harlyn did not want to get ready at a place where she had to share a space with a literal pack of people who would be attending her party. To be honest, it was understandable. After all, it was her birthday.