Just for Now
Callum was grateful for his shitty, outdated phone, the old flip phone was perfectly fine. Had it been a new smartphone the screen would have shattered and he would have been out of luck. A new phone was below food and shelter on his list of things that needed to be paid for, plus his plan was cheap as hell without the data. He was particularly grateful for it right as this moment, pulling it out to send his potential client a text. It would have to be a text, the ruckus behind him only seemed to louder as he limped away. There was no way he wasn't going to be late for his meeting now, blaming the accident though he conveniently left out that he'd actually been involved in it. Luck was with him when the man replied that he was working late and would wait. With that taken care of the redhead decided to take the time to put in two of his piercings, he'd been caught without and wasn't going to make that same mistake twice. One went through his eyebrow, the other though the corner of his lip to give him sight and speech.
Lady luck continued to shower him with her favour. The man didn't seem to even notice the bits of metal decorating his face that usually turned clients off, or the small remnants of crimson on his eyelids that stayed even after he washed the spell off. His daughter was being plagued by something in the depths of her closet and he was preoccupied with finding out if Callum could get rid of it for less than Fortuna had quoted him. He could.
It sounded like a simple boogyman inhabitation and those usually didn't take much to banish. The Fortuna organization only charged as much as they did because of the paper wards they used and Callum didn't bother with them. Another upside to his non-traditional methods, money saved and costs lowered on his supplies. Even if they weren't he would have cut this guy a break, he worked two jobs to support his daughter, raising her alone. Callum's family was always disgusted by how much of a 'bleeding heart' they claimed him to be. He was pretty sure he was just a decent human being, unlike them. Callum only charged what he needed as a bare minimum, not requiring payment until after the job. It was going to make it a tight week for him but the man had been so thankful the young exorcist didn't question his decision.
That job alone wasn't going to be enough but he hurt far too much from the accident to check out another possible opportunity.
At home a quick exam told him just how bad the crash had been, a spot on his head was bruising along with a few ribs. He was scraped in more than one place, his ratty jeans were just about useless now for providing any warmth. Callum was fairly certain he probably shouldn't sleep like he desperately wanted to which was only making him even grumpier than usual. Since cable had seemed like a stupid waste of money there wasn't a whole lot he could do to distract himself from sleep. A few emails took less than an hour to reply to and his connection wasn't really good enough to support spending the night browsing YouTube. Out of sheer desperation for something to do the freckled exorcist decided to reorganize all of his supplies, making an actual list so he could tell when something was in need of replacing or refilling.
Callum's methods, all of which his grandmother hated, were created by the young man himself. He'd been a star pupil in every aspect except in his unwillingness to be limited by his family and schools 'rules'. He had custom piercings made before his family had cut him off from their funds, set in silver with different semi-precious stones for clarity, purity, and spiritual connection amongst other things. Usually the stones were placed in pockets or bags to help pass energies to paper wards or holy waters but Callum's process involved them in the rituals more directly. Each placement offered different abilities for him that would normally require chanting and talismans to work.
The ones in his eyebrows offered sight into the spiritual world and revealed most spells, the five below his lower lip gave his words power to harm the supernatural. To have all five in at once would mean whatever it was he was facing was nothing short of a hell lord or demi-god. He'd never needed all five before. A bar through the bridge of his nose gave him a view on residual spells and traces of life and on very rare occasions, glimpses into the past. He'd pierced his septum to supply smells. Some beings and chants reeked of burning or sweetness or something altogether inhuman. The one through the back of his neck was to anchor him to his body while astral projecting, giving him the ability to do so without supervision or fear of losing himself altogether to the otherworld. Each one was so useful to Callum he couldn't understand why his family was so against them.
Cool bits of metal and stone organized into plastic cases, he moved onto his nail polishes. These he kept in little individual bags, nestled against more stones to try and empower them. He painted his nails in different colours for different jobs so that the runes he traced in the air might have real meaning. Callum took his time removing the red he'd been wearing so long it was nearly chipped off entirely on two fingers. The sting of the nail polish remover on scraped fingers helped wake up his thoughts a little even if it was unpleasant. In place of the red he chose a yellow, the sunny colour would chase away shadows, at least that was his hope. Waiting on it all to dry was a bad move however and the redhead struggled to remain conscious. The polish was still a little soft when he pushed himself to his feet and rummaged through the piercings he'd only just tidied, messing up everything once more.
One eyebrow in, one through his lip, and two pairs of earrings in each ear. That was the bare minimum he would wear when out on his own. The semi precious stones in Callum's ears were to pick up any whisperings from the underworld and more than one had saved him from attacks that had been murmured when he was thought to be preoccupied. He replaced his ratty jeans in favour of a pair that clung close to his hips, hoodie changed into a sweater that fell off his shoulders. If he couldn't find anything at home to keep him awake then he'd go out, find a bar or a club where the noise could thump away all thoughts of sleep. There were a few that didn't charge a cover fee and he had enough loose change for one drink, he just needed to make sure it had caffeine in it. Thank god for energy drinks and their increased popularity, Red Bull tasted like shit to him but at least most places would mix it with liquor. Then the taste wouldn't matter, just the burn. Then again alcohol would just end up making him even more tired in the long run. It was a debate he went over in his as he stepped out into the cool of the night.
In all honestly Callum wasn't really sure if the place he ended up in counted as a club or a bar. Maybe if it wasn't a weekday night it would have been more clear to him but it was a Wednesday and there were only a handful of people drinking and dancing. Dancing seemed like too much effort right now so the exorcist just took a seat in a booth that was out of the way. He ordered a drink mostly because he had to, producing ID that claimed he was in his mid-twenties. The girl taking his order looked as though se wasn't sure if she trusted it but it was legal and in the end she handed it back with a shrug. He didn't care if she though he was underage, he didn't really care what anyone thought, he just wanted his caffeinated alcohol. When he got that in his hands he felt a little more confident that he wasn't going to die in his sleep.
“Hey.”
Callum fought a groan, glaring instead at the man who slipped into the booth across from him. All he wanted was a place to stay awake without having to socialize, was that so much to ask for? Tonight it was, the man ignored the glare, if he could even be called a man. A shimmering in Callum's spelled eye drew his gaze down to the stranger's neck. Old scars probably spelled out of regular sight lingered over a large vein. The exorcist hadn't seen a vampire since his training but he wasn't all that worried about it. He couldn't be affected by glamour spells with his piercing in, they needed both eyes to work it. It was kind of a shame that he wasn't human, he wasn't half bad to look at beyond the obvious. Brown hair, kind eyes behind glasses, completely non-threatening. It all probably made catching a meal a hell of a lot easier.
“What are you drinking?”
Callum considered continuing to ignore him but in all honesty a little conversation would most likely wake his brain up more a little more and he needed to stay as alert as possible. It wasn't like he could be glamoured and lured into some alley to feed on.
“Whatever the bartender determined had the highest caffeine content in it.” The redhead hadn't bothered to learn the name of it, there was a high chance it was something moronic anyway.
“Not planning to sleep tonight then? Wednesday seems like a weird night for that kind of partying. Dedicated partying.” There was nothing judgemental in the vampire's tone, in fact he sounded rather entertained.
“Actually no, I'm not sleeping tonight.” The exorcist was amused at the reaction his answer earned from the undead. Apparently he'd not been expecting to be correct. “Sleep is momentarily a bad idea.”
“Bad dreams?”
“Something like that.” Callum figured there was no reason to give his life's story. Letting some creature of the night know he was venerable would be the end of him.
His temporary companion waved at the waitress, flashing a two with his fingers before pointing at the nasty drink Callum had almost finished. No way he was going to warn him about the taste of it, he was only putting up with it himself only because he really was scared to fall asleep. “Is the caffeine enough to keep you up? You don't need any distractions?”
There is was. That sort of comment was always laced with glamour, or at least Callum assumed it was. He wasn't picking up on any traces of it right now but that could have been the dim lighting or maybe the liquor his drink had contained. Now was the time to treat lightly, he wasn't really up for a full fledged fight, not with his bruises and headache. He waited until the drinks were brought over by the waitress, who was still eyeing Callum suspiciously, before he chimed in again. “It's going to be.”
“You sure you won't need a hand?” The grin on the man's lips was just shy of showing off the teeth that made him so dangerous. Callum was impressed, it must have taken a lot of practice to perfect that expression. “I'm Nile by the by. Nile Squire, I'm from a family of almosts.”
“Didn't quite make it to knighthood?” The redhead wore a smile himself but he was fully away that it was probably self deprecating jokes like that, that were meant to put possible meals at ease, to make himself seem harmless. Everything about him was likely done to make himself look like less of a threat. He was dressed like he spend his days in a library somewhere rather than sleeping in a coffin. Not that vampires really slept in coffins or mausoleums. It made the exorcist uneasy just how against the stereotype he was. How many had fallen pray to this innocent routine? Callum really didn't want to know.
“Apparently not.” Though this Nile shrugged his expression held a bit more of an edge to it now. Callum wouldn't be surprised if it was because he'd rudely not fallen suit in introducing himself.
“Callum Taggert.” There was nothing the vampire could do with that name, no binding spells or luring chants. It might have been his birth name but it was not his true name as his grandmother often reminded him. He always assumed his true land to be Callum Fortuna, though he supposed he could be wrong about that as well. It was safer for him anyway, to not know it.
“Nice to meet you.” Nile shook his hand, the annoyance in his face fading. “Would you care for a dance?”
“Actually I'm going to have to say no. I had a fall earlier and dancing would probably just hurt me more.” It wasn't a total lie and it saved him from outing the fact that he knew the truth to Nile's niceties.
“That's too bad.” At least he didn't seem all that offended by the rejection, it reduced the risk of an attack outside the place. “I'm a great dancer. It's how I convince cute guys to come home with me, even if I'm a little older than their usual type.”
“Seduce them with your hips huh?” The seduction was likely helped along with the use of glamour, he probably used the intimacy of the situations to work those spell unnoticed.
“Definitely. Now how else am I supposed to get your number to help keep you up tonight?” The exorcist had to admit there was something charming in the vampire's smile and if he'd been human Callum wouldn't have questioned a decision to let the man take him home. A part of him almost said yes anyway but that was likely the bump on his head doing the talking. At least he hoped it was and that he wasn't so desperate he'd risk his life that way. His life wasn't so bad that he wanted to see it end, not yet.
“You could just ask.” Callum enjoyed the look on the vampire's face as he worked his way through his horrid drink. Clearly that hadn't been a reply he'd expected. “That also works.”
“Well then, can I get your number? I'll help keep you from bad dreams.” Nile took the advice but Callum continued to leave him hanging, digging out his wallet to pay for the first drink, his surprise companion could pay for the second. Placing the crumpled bill down he stood, setting a business card next to the money. The vampire could decide for himself if he really wanted to mess with an exorcist this way.
“Night.” To his credit Nile didn't go for the card until after Callum had walked away. He spotted his waitress, still watching him, as he was leaving. He gave her a nod, in case this look was one of suspicion over the bill and if he was paying. He didn't want her to worry about it. The action seemed to have the opposite effect than planned however, summoning her instead. Her glance darted back to the table he'd come from, her hand wrapping around his arm to tug him into shadows by the exit. Now her face wore concern, a worry in her eyes that the redhead hadn't seen directed at himself in years.
“You okay?” Her voice was kept low, a whisper barely audible over the bar's personal soundtrack.
“I'm fine?” Callum didn't bother to keep the confusion from his tone, surprised by the woman's change in attitude.
“That guy is way older than you.” Again her eyes darted back to where Nile was still sitting. It took Callum a minute to understand. There was a brief moment that he thought she too knew what kind of monster lurked beneath the surface before he realized she was speaking from a human's point of view. She'd suspected him to be underage whereas the vampire's face was frozen somewhere in his early thirties, she thought he was just an older man looking for a young plaything rather than a predator out on the hunt for dinner. That was sweet though entirely unnecessary, the exorcist could definitely take care of himself.
“Oh right. No I'm fine, he just wanted someone to chat with. He's getting my second drink though.” She didn't look convinced but there was no proof to her worries. It was interesting, despite the vampire's mild exterior this girl had somehow managed to pick up on his less than innocent nature.
“Of course, it's already on his bill.” She scoffed as if it had been a stupid statement. “Safe trip home.”
“Thanks, night.”
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