Chapter 1: "Often when we guess at others' motives, we reveal only our own."

“Why are we here?” Alex asked looking around the room, she was sat cross legged on an orange fold away chair.

“Meeting”, grunted Carl, his zombie flesh becoming taught under the bright white lights, leaning back as he looked around at the other occupants of this ‘meeting’.

Pushing glasses up his nose, the only demon in the room stared at his watch, tapping it and looking up.

“I got a cryptic message from my matriarch stating I needed to just turn up here at this time, I was then asked not to bring weapons…”

“…Which feels like a waste doesn’t it?”

Interjected Cassandra, the latina witch pulled out her air pods and placed them back in their case delicately clipping it shut.

“A demon, a vampire, some kind of zombie as well as myself are summoned to some secret underground meeting and my first thought was…”

“…Human propaganda or some kind of bad setup for a joke”, finished Alex, pulling out the gilded fangs from her handbag, putting them on and grinning.

“Humans!” Howled Carl.

“I know”, the demon Alastair smiled, “it’s not like I owe them my presence on this hell forsaken plane or anything!”

“Really?” Yelled Cassandra, the witch giving him side eye and pouting.

“I fit in!” retorted the demon.

“No, you don’t”, the vamp showed off her gold fang dentures.

“Ha, Teeth”, mumbled Carl.

“Why is there a fucking Zombie here?” The witch leant forward, looking at Carl, “and how come you can talk?”

Carl whipped his head around, pointed at his chest, “master was voodoo”, he responded in a low growl.

“A voodoo zombie”, said Alex sighing which turned into a sneer, “how old school”.

Rummaging through her handbag she found a blood bag from a recent drive she had attended, pulling it out eyes wide as she bit into it. Letting out a sigh it coated her tongue and throat in warm crimson. Relaxing into her chair she giggled. The rest of the group stared at her in disbelief.

“So utterly brazen”, Alastair exhaled, taking off his glasses.

Alex drained the rest of the blood bag,smiling a little blood dripped off her fangs.

Carl grunted, looked up at the ceiling.

Cassandra stood up, pulled her bag onto her lap and prepared to leave.

Alex cleared her throat, “it was I that brought you all of you here”, Cass soon sat back down.

Alastair frowned, the dry pale make up around his sanded down horns shifted.

Planting her bag down on the floor by the side of the chair, Cass cleared her throat, ‘continue’.

Alex raised an eyebrow, ‘anyway, now that I have your attention, well at least two of you!’ Staring at Carl, who was still looking at the ceiling, ‘CARL!’

He yelped and looked in her direction ‘fine’, he sighed.

‘If you can't get the zombie to fall in line then I feel you may have a problem… miss?’

Alastair started.

‘Leigh’, stated Alex.

‘The mayor’s aide?’, Laughed Cassandra, ‘how many times has that incompetent male been shot at?’

Alex coughed, ‘he is a stupid individual, who seems to avoid every hit i put out on him, but he always thinks i end up saving his life’, she stifled a laugh ‘he keeps giving me pay rises every time also which i don't understand’.

‘Get to the point!’ Barked Carl. Alastair stifled a yawn.

‘Fine’, Alex smiles, ‘how would you all like to bring this city to its knees?’

Alastair preceded to clean off some imaginary dirt off his glasses,

‘Why? What has brought that on?’ Putting his glasses on, gently shaking his head realising how futile the gesture is in front of such individuals. ‘Feeling oppressed are we?’

Licking her gold dentures, Alex grinned, ‘that is a cheap shot, especially coming from a demon and given I know who summoned you’.

Alastair sat back in his chair, defeated, deflated and his pride bruised.

‘Gold Teeth!’ Shouted Carl, raising a fist ‘explain, now’.

Cass had grown impatient and had put her music back on.

Alex sat back down, grabbed her phone and scrolled through to get to the most recent mayor’s meeting notes, cleared her throat and read them aloud:

“It has come to my attention that a recent influx of demons, witches and other fantastical creatures has instilled fear in small pockets of the populace, these pockets are showing violent tendencies and seeds of a rebellious nature”

Cassandra, seemingly somewhat paying attention to what had been said, ‘the mayor said this?’

Alex putting her phone away, ‘yes’.

The demon sighed, ‘those seedlings need to be plucked and soon’

‘We can’t deal with that’, started Cass, drawing a small spell with her fingers in the direction of Carl, ‘you smell bad’. Carl sniffed the air 'Can't smell’.

Cass laughed, the spell finished ‘better’, her attention back to the situation at hand, ‘wouldn't we bring more attention to that area?’

‘In theory’, said Alex, ‘I have a better idea though’.

‘What's that?’ asked Alastair. ‘Boom!’ Grinned Carl bearing his pearly whites.

‘That is a less subtle way of putting it, but yes’, Alex continued, ‘I need you all in on this first otherwise it isn’t going to work’.

‘What do you mean by subtle?’ Alastair reapplied some makeup around his horns, catching Cass staring at him, ‘what?’

‘Nothing, just realising how badly you want to be part of this human society’, Cass answered, retrieving a small vial full of dark viscous green liquid out of her pocket, undoing the brass lid and drinking its entire contents.

Alex then snatched the now empty vial out of the witch's hand, ‘how long have you been using that?’

‘I am not telling you, you probably know anyway’, replied Cass, ‘wait, do you actually know what this is?’

‘Of course I do, I have ordered a crate’, answered Alex. Alastair laughed ‘we are all as bad as each other, well except for Carl, who clearly can’t form a sentence’.

‘Weak demon’, growled the zombie, who then stared at the demon with his pupiless eyes.

Everyone looked around at Carl, Alastair then shook from head to toe, ‘i like him’ chuckled Cass and Alex handed the vial back to Cass, ‘I think this will work out just fine’.

"We shall see’, Cass crushed the vial into green dust, and a small tattoo of the vial appeared in her palm.

‘Oh’, exhaled Alex, ‘who taught you that?’

‘It’s self taught, but that’s none of your concern’, Cass turned her palm over and the tattoo traveled to the back of her hand. She then made for the exit, ‘Noche’.

Alastair got up, patting his handmade suit down. ‘She had her Familiar here the whole time’, putting his glasses inside his gold and black baroque style smoking jacket. ‘It was camouflaged, please proceed to underestimate her at your peril’.

‘I sensed a mild disturbance and I thought it was the spell she cast’, Alex stated.

‘No’, smiled the demon, ‘please don't be so naive’. Alastair adjusted the buttons on his jacket and disappeared into thin air.

‘Cat!’ laughed Carl.

‘Huh?’ Asked Alex, brushing actual dust off her shoulders.

Carl pointed at a hole in the ceiling, ‘Witch, pet!’.

‘Ah’, she sensed the feeling from earlier, ‘damn’.

The zombie pulled himself out of his chair and directed himself with difficulty toward the exit.

‘Night!’ He grunted as he left out the door.

Alex stood alone in the room, pulling her handbag straps over her left shoulder.

‘I hate this city’

…