I Can't Get the Vampire Rogue to Romance Me

Chapter 85 - To Rob a Thief

The next day was beautiful and bright. The sky above was a sapphire blue, letting gorgeous, bright light to slip through several large leafed trees to dapple merrily on the ground. Evangeline stretched deliciously like a cat. As much fun as she had been having on this isekai adventure, having a long sleep in a real bed had been wonderful. The rest of the group were finishing up their breakfasts but Evangeline just couldn't wait to get out. She knew she couldn't get fair away, but the range on their collars allowed her to exit the building and sit on a bench on the slip of porch.

Several other occupants of the inn were out in the main yard, saddling horses, hooking up wagons, or simply checking over their travel packs.

"I wonder what it's liked, simply traveling in this world. Seeing the sights," she murmured. Of course there was no one there to answer her.

A small tug caught her attention all the same. Looking sideways, she saw Valerian exiting a side door. He had stopped just a few steps away, in a place where the full sun beamed down.

Pausing, the vampire rogue simply stood there, his face upturned to the light.

"Our little flying fox there is enjoying his time in the daylight," Hagor said as he joined Evangeline on the bench. "He is feeling out of place."

"What do you mean?" Evangeline asked.

Hagor leaned his large back against the wall. "His kind do not live their lives in the sunlight. It is not a part of the nature. And when one goes against their nature, they either abhor it, or become infatuated with it."

"And then returning to his..." she paused a second as another traveler came up beside them, using the bench to lace up his boots. "... more natural environment might be very difficult for him." She thought of the burn marks on his chest from overhearing the pendant.

"Alright, my stomach's full. Are we ready to go?" Harrowheart declared, bursting through the main door.

Sigismund followed her, looking somber.

"This one apparently didn't sleep very well, how about you two?" the orcess asked, planting her fists onto her hips.

"I always sleep better under a tree than under a roof, but other than that the full belly did a lot to help," Hagor declared in turn.

"I slept alright," Evangeline agreed, then grinned. "I got twice the rest I normally do."

Before anyone could say more, Artmond appeared with the innkeeper following him behind, bowing and scrapping. "Please, my Lord. I think it would be best to wait for word from the First Lady..."

"And I think it's best that my companions and I conduct our business before then, so as not to delay once she is ready for us," Artmond countered, cooly and easily with noble confidence.

Sigismund placed herself to one side of him, her usually defiant eyes cast down, her hands folded in front of herself in an uncharacteristic submissive pose.

Artmond nodded to her. "Shall we go?" he asked without asking, and stepped from the porch. Everyone in the yard moved out of the party's way as Artmond led them away.

A market was in full force just beyond the yard of the inn. Thanks to her burning the Meta points, Evangeline knew exactly where they needed to go to find the local lawyer.

Weaving past a few other smaller side quests that they could do later, Evangeline pushed her way into a dimly lit shop space that had once belonged to a merchant.

Even though the shelves themselves were empty of what one would expect in a shop, they were filled with files, papers, and books of all sorts.

"Hello?" Evangeline called out, coming up to the inset counter that was also being used more for storage than its original intention.

There was no response.

Confused, Evangeline moved behind the counter to a door and tried to open it but it didn't move. She took a step back to examine it. "There doesn't seem to be a lock to even pick," she muttered.

"He does not seem to be in," Artmond stated, sounding more like himself, stating the obvious.

"We'll have to come back later," Hagor agreed.

"Or ask around town if anyone knows where he might be," Sigismund suggested, "It is a 'he'?"

"Yes, he's a dwarf and a brilliant legal scholar. I was sure this was where the quest started," Evangeline said. "Just hold on a second. Let me burn a Meta point and see if I can find him."

Everyone waited quietly watching her as she said her catchphrase and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

"Is everything okay, baby rabbit?" Hagor asked, pointing to her twitching nose as she became more frustrated.

"I don't know what's wrong," Evangeline said, opening her menu to look at her Special Power stat. "It shows that I burned a Meta point, but," she shook her head. "I'm getting nothing."

"Oh that's not good," Valerian said.

"Is this the first time her god hasn't responded to her?" Harrowheart asked.

"As far as we know," Valerian said, lifting at eyebrow at her. "Have you been having troubles performing that we don't know about?"

Evangeline glared at him and his innuendo, but he had the discipline to maintain a stoic serious face as she stared him down. Only his eyes twinkled.

"No," she said before her barely contained smile escaped her control. "This is the first time I've burned a Meta point and there be nothing. I don't know what's going on."

"Hmm, well that's unsettling," Artmond said, rubbing his chin.

"Let us not dwell on it just yet," Sigismund said soberly, then pulled out a small bag. "If we still have the time, I would like to get these harpy feathers I collected sold. They are smelling up my robes."

The group nodded and filed out of the empty shop/office.

Just as they all passed into the sun however, Valerian screamed.

Shocked they all turned back to see smoke erupting around him as he scrabbled back from the light into the dimmer darkness of the shop.

"Valerian?! What happened?" Evangeline asked, pushing her way back through her companions to come inside with him.

He stank of burnt hair. Large red welts had appeared over his hands that were now scrabbling over his chest.

"It's gone!" he said, meeting Evangeline's gaze with large, frightened eyes. "My pendant is gone!"

Want to read more by me, check out my urban fantasy/cyberpunk series: The Finder of the Lucky Devil

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