Arc 14 Interlude 13: Doors of the Broken Hall
Doors of the Broken Hall
18th of February 2007 A.D.
"Is that what we're going...?" I did my best to sound confused, which I had plenty of practice over the last few months and insulting, not really a hard ask when the guy compared himself to a tapeworm. "Lamp all rubbed out."
Instead of getting angry or at least bewildered himself the horror standing across from be in a fancily of a Guatemalan eatery just leaned back in his chair with a creak and waved his left hand at me as he continued to devour the hot dog with his right. "Go on then, get it out of your system so we can talk."
"You make a real bad genie. I don't think I'll be using my third wish to let you free."
"What makes you think I'm making an offer?" The blandest face of evil I'd ever met looked up at me with mild interest, like I was a new species of bug he was eager to pin to a cork board.
"Experience. It's what all you wanna be Darth Vaders do." There was no way to be sure how up this guy was on modern culture, but if there is one thing I had learned over my rewarding career it's that the bad guys did not like being painted with the same brush.
"That is where you are wrong, I do not have to buy men's souls, they give themselves to me." The whole scene pulsed like a tumor seeping poisoned light. In a more normal tone he added: "Because they come to agree. As for my question I asked it for the same reason you didn't answer: because you don't know." he motioned to the street where the girl —what was her name?— was arguing with the woman next to her about ice cream before lunch...
"...but I've never ruined my appetite before and papa got me ice cream at least six... no seven times." She held out the appropriate number of fingers, much to the man's chagrin.
"Listen to that, does it sound of innocence to you? Or is it just that children are powerless. When I was young Dresden I had a cat, also several daughters and a son, but the cat was more memorable. I saw it scavenge the dead once after a riot and I knew than that if I died in such a manner that would not poison my meat." He took a large and greedy bite of of his food. I felt like puking. "The cat would eat me, first the tongue and the lips, then the eyes and the ears. A child would too, if it is hungry enough. We are all agents of sentience moving though a world of meat, like a haunted mincing machine. Who knows what she will be hungry for soon... They are coming for her, the Red Court, they know who she is and they have a use for her. In this the leeches have still the power to take and the wisdom to find."
"What did you tell them?" My hand closed around the familiar surface of my blasting rod, though what good it would do here I couldn't say.
"Now you flatter me Dresden. Vampires find a girl in the middle of vampire country? Truly a marvel and a horror. It must be a conspiracy."
Without meaning to my eyes jumped to Susan. Why did she think Maggie, it felt wrong to learn that name from the monster, would be safer here under watch of a few Fellowship agents than back in Chicago where all the big guns were. Did she really think I was that much of a problem, that I would put my daughter in more danger than bloody Red Court in their own back yard?
The Hollow Man reached out to a neighboring table and snatched their paper napkin causing the man to look down confused and Susan to look over at him suspiciously, scanning for threats. For all that good that does... wait?
"Oh yes, this is mere passing vision, the Labyrinth is real, I would hazard to say it is reality and all the rest built upon its foundations, but you are not the man for such airy musings. Reach out your hand and pull the girl though and she will be with you in time. Who knows, she might even learn a thing or two."
He could still be lying, of course he lies... That is when I noticed the man at the next table was wearing skin color gloves, the heavy jacket and pants were not just being a clueless tourist. That was a vampire, one old enough to be in the sun, if not quite as confident in his flesh mask as he might like.
What does Harry do?
[] Pulls someone in
-[] Maggie so she will be safe
-[] The Vampire for interogation
[] No, let it go, the vampire isn't just going to attack a family on a busy street in broad daylight (Willpower DC 7)
[] Open his sight to get a better look at all of this, all he has so far are gut feelings and the word of a monster.
[] Write in
OOC: Welcome to the Labyrinth where the worst things you can see are true ones.