Loving Merritt Forever

Loving Merritt After 31

Finally, seven minutes after natural sunset, Marisol appeared at the lakeside property to collect Merritt and take her somewhere safer, and more comfortable than a wine cellar on protected demon territory. The hatch to the wine cellar was opened, Merritt's body and face turned to look up the spiraling staircase to the now opened hatch. Her hair was tangled, matted and clumped from her thick blood tears. Her face equally a mess with dark blood stains. Her wide, glowing eyes, filled with shame, and sadness. "I think I ruined the pillow, I'm sorry. I will pay to replace anything of course." She said. Voice flat. Lifting herself from the floor and slowly plodding up the stairs.

Wren, Erola and Lux had all joined Marisol to see Merritt off. Lux ran on demon fast legs, and was the first to wrap Merritt in a tight embrace. When she had made it to the top of the stairs. Looking a broken mess. Whispering for her ears only. "None immortal were ever supposed to feel such sadness." Erola and Wren, following behind Lux.

"Merritt, your life is yours." Erola told her, reinforcing Lux's message. Wren, could feel there was something different about Merritt, but was unable to see past all the signs of her vampire nature. That Merritt was the same as those Vampires who had killed her father. Regardless of what Wren could feel, her history and bias were coloring her perception. No one, not even Merritt herself blamed Wren for her feelings.

Merritt was promising to pay to replace and compensate her hosts for everything she had received. Rebuffed by her hosts, that such efforts were not necessary. They were happy to provide respite to any in need. Eventually Merritt gave up the pleasantries, and allowed Marisol to teleport her away from whatever lake she had been near. Trying to be polite was exhausting Merritt. She wanted solitude.

Merritt knew she was back in a city. The air outside the building hummed with life. The building was empty on this floor, but others were occupied. "You can behave yourself?" Marisol asked Merritt.

Merritt could sense the living heart beats below her. She had no interest in hunting. She wasn't hungry. She wanted to curl up and cry some more."I wont hurt or hunt anyone." Merritt promised with a flat voice. She meant it. Merritt only wanted to be able to curl up in a soft bed. Under many blankets, wanting to feel nearly crushed under their weight.

Marisol showed Merritt around the apartment. Nicely finished batten board had been installed over the windows. Painted a bright white. It wasn't as nice as the windows in her apartment that let her pretend she could feel sunshine, but it certainly wasn't as oppressive as the heavy blinds at the hotel and was miles prettier than Joy's manic black paint job had been in the Black Tower office.

Merritt looked around as Marisol gave her tour, the words not sinking into Merritt's depressed, muddled mind. Marisol, while she had been a stranger, had truly, tried to make a nice space for Merritt to hide in. Something pretty, styled, and nice looking instead of purely functional. Marisol had even added some fresh flower arrangments to brighten the space.

Merritt had no idea what Marisol had said, or what she had been about to say when Merritt interrupted her. "Thank you Marisol, the apartment is lovely. I promise I wont be a problem." Merritt saw the words Marisol had been about to say freeze in her throat.

"There will be daily blood deliveries, I am sorry, but you wont be able to leave safely." Marisol said. Sounding like she meant it. Merritt nodded. She had nowhere she wanted to go anyways. Marisol finished the tour, pressing a new burner phone in Merritt's hand, and giving her a credit card for anything she wanted to buy for comfort or entertainment. Aside from anyone alive being invited to join her, there were no other rules. Stay hidden, and quiet. Those were Merritt's instructions.

Levi awoke from his rest state, and knew Merritt would be on the move. Felt the moment she shifted, not a overly significant distance from where Marisol had originally taken her. Felt Merritt's numb sense of self instead of the bright light she had always been in Levi's life. He knew, he was the cause of the change, and it almost stirred him to feel guilt. Though after so long undead, guilt wasn't truly an emotion he could feel any longer. Regardless of how warranted it was for the situation.

Instead of wallowing, Levi had thrown himself into researching Marisol, and the Black Corporation, and the Council. Until he finally saw how everything linked together, and the heart of everything lived inside Blue Willow Pack. The signs and links were obvious once Levi went looking for them. Everything lined up, the pack's location, the main building for the Black Corporation, where Levi felt Merritt had to be right now. Or at least where she felt like she should be.

Levi was in the middle of arranging his transportation, and lodgings across the country when he was contacted by a number he did not recognize on his private line. Not the line for business.

Joy had been Levi's best human spy. His eyes, ears, and intelligence working on Levi's behalf in sunshine and where he could not easily go. Starting out as one of many personal assistants for errands. A highschool dropout, no money or family to help her. Levi saw a spark in her and cultivated her, training her how to seek information. How to watch, and be certain no one was watching you. She had been a natural. Excelled, Levi had financed everything to have her set up with her own private investigator business.

Levi had been her biggest and most reliable client. After Merritt's death, the Black Corporation had sought her out. Making a buyout and employment contract offer too good for Joy to refuse instead of only working with her on a needs only basis. The access to the resources and information available at the office tower had been enticing enough for Joy to give up her proudest accomplishment and join a flock of other people who did what she did. A real job, with benefits, and vacation time. A steady salary. For someone who had grown up rough and fast, Joy thought this was her chance to have the kind of life she had dreamed of.

Levi knew if he used any of the other private investigators and spys he had accumulated for himself over the years to try and gain information on anything tied to the Black Corporation, they too would be found out, and bought out faster than Levi could replace them. This time, his solo hunt was not by his own choice to make a sport or game of the affair. Levi had to do everything on his own if he wanted to succeed and maintain the lifestyle he was now rather accustomed to.

He knew the city, and the general area where the Black Corporation were based. And based on what he felt from Merritt and the maps he was looking at, she was somewhere in enemy territory. Though, mercifully far, far away from the true demon that was after her.

As Levi continued to try and learn all he could from Joy's notes on the area, those who had gone missing. Trying to put the puzzle together, Levi worked, feeling like he was no closer to being reunited with what was his. Levi felt his demon and anger rise in his dark blood. Levi had made Merritt. His first and only vampire sired. Fates had truly actually worked to bring her to Levi. She was his and he deserved to have her by his side.

He had only ever done what was best for her. Merritt should be able to see that. Levi's notes on the plain paper he was annotating as he worked, grew dark. The ink marks harsh and jagged to match his mood. He was furiously writing down a detail from a particular translation of a passage from Summaria that was supposed to detail the collapse of a hell dimension and the fall out afterwards; when there was a knock at the door to the office space he had holed himself up in tonight.

Levi went to the door, entirely surprised by who was on the other side. Levi did not even have a moment to realize that things were not as they first appeared before his hand was grabbed and he was pulled out of the office, and out into the night by a force far stronger than he was.