Vices and Maces

Chapter 7: Who Are These Three?

CW: blood, threats of death

Kayden opened the door to the lab he and others worked in. It was early in the morning, so there weren't too many people there, only two right now. They were the youngest people that worked for Bleeding Rose, Cecil and Sidney. Cecil is seventeen, like Kayden, and Sidney is just a year older.

Cecil is an air genie, his black hair had blue streaks in it. He had a plaid jacket tied around his waist as he built a catapult. However it was just a model, as it was made with plastic spoons, rubberbands, and popsicle sticks, held together with hot glue.

Sidney was an angel. Literally. And no not the religious kind everyone always thought of, she did not serve any holy purpose like her ancestors did, not that they would know since she was in the foster system. Angels and demons were once seen as holy or unholy beings, and it was a huge religion a long time ago. But now they're seen as another race. And Sidney was the last thing Kayden would describe as holy.

She had yellow wings, blonde hair that matched. Freckles dotted her face and her green eyes watched Cecil's hands with wonder. The difference between Kayden and Sidney was that Sidney had magic. She has "holy" magic, she can create a bright fire, is super strong, and can teleport. Kayden didn't have any magic, all he had were wings.

She grabbed something from a cup as he finished and placed it on the spoon, pulling the spoon back. Kayden recognized it for what it was, and quickly got out of the line of fire. She released the spoon and let the bang snaps fly into the air. As soon as they hit the ground, they popped with a loud bang, letting off a bit of smoke.

"It worked!" She shouted, jumping up and letting her wings unfold.

"I knew teaching her how to make bang snaps was a mistake," Kayden commented. "And now you're teaching her how to make catapults? She'll cause chaos everywhere."

"Sling shots are better," Sidney told him, grabbing a handful of bang snaps. "And these aren't easy to make! A simple mistake and it blows up in your face! Still won't hurt though."

"Make one big enough and it will," Cecil told her.

"Ooh, good idea."

"I'm not taking either of you to the ER," Kayden warned them, grabbing a seat and sitting down.

Cecil frowned when he noticed Kayden's wings were tucked tight against his back. "Is something wrong?"

"How'd you know?"

"Wings are always a tell. When you're upset, you keep them folded against your back. When Sidney is upset, her feathers become ruffled. When your dad or uncle is upset, their wings flutter, if they're on the ground."

"Wow, the little geek can read people," Sidney commented.

"Shut up," Cecil mumbled, elbowing her. "Anyway, what's wrong?"

"Dad and Uncle Ro have a bounty on their heads. Now a bunch of people are trying to kill them. Dad already got hurt, it's a small scratch but he said he was only fighting one person. I just wish he'd let me do something!"

"You're one of the best hackers they have, you do a lot for this gang," Sidney reminded him. "We know you're strong, but you belong in here, not out there fighting. Besides, we all know I'm the fighter of this group, that's why I'm your bodyguard."

"Dad's just scared of me getting hurt. And he's the one that got hurt! He doesn't have any bodyguards!"

"Petal's and Thorn's are some of the best fighters that we have," Cecil reminded him. "They're adults, we're teens, and you're down a leg. You're a slow runner, so if your wings got injured, you're dead. Not to mention the fact that you're Thorn's son, if anyone found out then you would be a target. Besides, I'm sure Petal's will force your dad to have bodyguards now."

"As if he won't run away from them." Kayden folded his arms. "We know how he is."

"Yeah, you and I have a Sidney." Cecil nodded his head towards her. "She's our own version of him."

"I consider that a compliment," Sidney said, sitting on the table.

"That just means if he can get away from those guards, he needs better ones." Cecil stood up. "Now come on, let's run out for a bit before the others come. Maybe we can fly for a bit, better than being stuck in this stuffy room."

He offered a hand to Kayden. The avion sighed, though a smile tugged at his lips. He took Cecil's hand and stood up. "Alright, flying sounds nice."

~~~

Roman walked through town, taking in the sun and air. He usually stayed in his office most of the time. He dealt with all the paperwork and decision making. Remus would help make some decisions, but Roman made the most since his brother was more of a hands on guy.

However Roman had a bit of business to handle as he walked downtown. He wore his red jacket over a black button up. His golden rose necklace was in full view, laying against the black. He twisted a ring as he continued to walk, making it look like he had a particular location in mind as his eyes wandered the shop names.

Eventually he left his part of downtown. A majority of the stores were fronts, most being Wolfsbane, but Bleeding Rose had grabbed quite a few in an area. They didn't know which ones were Wolfsbane, but simply walking out of their area made it dangerous.

Roman would be fine. Unseen by others were a demon and an elf following him. The elf had placed both of them under an invisibility spell, and were following from the rooftops. Though, they were probably unneeded since Roman was one of the best fighters in the gang. Being a vampire had its perks.

It took longer than Roman liked, but then again not many people knew he was a leader of Bleeding Rose. He had just expected people from Wolfsbane to see a rich looking person and kidnap or mug them, and Roman certainly had the money. Finally after almost an hour, there was a shot.

The person who had fired the weapon missed, just barely grazing his shoulder, and Roman immediately turned to them. They were in the alley behind him, and quickly ducked behind in an attempt to hide.

In a flash, Roman was there, fire already dancing along his fingertips. They must have been animal traited since they had round fuzzy ears on the top of their head, and a spotted tail of a cheetah. Immediately she turned to run, moving faster than most people.

Roman chased after and he heard clicking from her gun. She moved to the wall, her bare feet changing to become more animalistic and she jumped, shooting herself off of the wall as she twisted midair, pulling the trigger.

The vampire was more prepared this time, moving out of the way. The bullet missed him completely as the cheetah landed on the ground, trying to run out of the alley. Roman tried to grab her, but she was too fast.

Roman stopped as he watched her rush towards the end of the alley, genuinely impressed by her speed. However, before she could step out into the light, there was a burst of black fire at the exit, dimming down to show the demon and elf. She tried to turn, scrambling on her feet as she turned back to Roman, realizing she was stuck. Her gun wouldn't be able to save her.

"Shit," she cursed.

"Language dear," Roman chided. "And don't worry, I only have a request."

He reached into his jacket, and the traited held her breath staring at him with wide eyes. She was expecting a weapon, but instead a red envelope was pulled out. He held it out to her, but she didn't take it.

"I'm not a messenger," she growled.

"Well, it's your only way out of this alive. You work for Wolfsbane, correct? I want you to take this to the leader of your gang. If you decide to reject, then I'll kill you and find someone else who can."

"What's in it? A bomb? Drugs?"

"Neither, it's a simple message. Inside just contains a letter asking the bounty for the Bleeding Rose leaders to be removed, and we won't retaliate. If the bounty stays, and people continue to try to kill my associate and myself, then I won't hesitate to attack one of your locations. And I'll make sure it's a location that your gang cannot do without."