Never a dull day in paradise when it came to working for Bloodworth.

Papers soared in the air as Merritt reclined in his desk’s chair.  He’d sorted through most of the employee records Bloodworth had managed to obtain for him already.  It wasn’t like he expected to find something incriminating within their files, but knowing who had access to that floor and the two courtrooms in particular on the days of demon incidents was a nice step in the right direction.

It reminded Merritt a lot of his college days, before the incident. He’d always loved sorting through textbooks and anything else the librarians had for him to assist with.  Despite how much he’d loved to read, he hadn’t stepped foot in a library since then.  He knew he could never return to his law school prestigious library and the memories of it would forever be tainted.

Bloodworth marched into the office and slammed the door behind him, ducking his head to avoid a manilla folder that swooped around him. “What in the devil?” 

“Apologies, sir!” Merritt rose to his feet, summoning his remaining papers toward him. “I just finished sorting through those employee files. While I can’t guarantee our demon’s helper is in here, these are our likely candidates.”

Three files fluttered onto his desk while the other remaining ones all sorted themselves into a neat stack, hovering in front of Bloodworth. His boss merely glared at the files. 

“Those employees are in the clear,” Merritt explained. “I also appreciate you getting me their work schedules. That helped eliminate a lot of them.”

“I see.” Bloodworth accepted the files merrily fluttering before him, snatching them up so they’d go still in his grip. “What about those? Does anyone in particular stick out to you?”

“Not really.” Merritt rubbed the back of neck.  “Mostly because I’m not familiar with a lot of the names.  I removed ours and Gwyneira’s from the list entirely, and that’s what I have left.”

“Let me see them.” Bloodworth set aside the other files before approaching his desk with his hand out. 

“Of course, sir.” Merritt watched as his boss sifted through each one.

“Thank you for gathering these together.”  His face remained impassive, not giving any shock or anger at the names presented to him.  He sniffed at the air, gaze landing Merritt’s dessert.  “Is that peach cobbler?”

“Yes, sir.” Merritt nodded.  “This is technically my breakfast break, but I wanted to finish up with those files.”

“I see.  Good work then.” Something akin to longing flashed in Bloodworth’s eyes as he gazed down at his desk. “That once was a favorite of mine, actually.”

Merritt raised a brow. “Really?”

“Yes.” Bloodworth nodded as he strode off toward his office, pausing at the door. “If you need me, all you need to do is knock.”

When he heard the lock click, he knew his boss had to be dipping into his blood stash.  After that night he’d walked in on him feeding off his live donor, Merritt noticed he took precautions to lock up when he drank his precious blood.  Thinking about it, he hadn’t seen Bloodworth with even a glass of lifefluid once since that incident. 

All for his sake, he suspected.  Merritt made himself another delicious cup of coffee, savoring the warm liquid that rushed down his throat. Was it really fair of him to drink so freely out in the open when his boss had to hide and seal himself up in his office?  

Maybe Merritt could tell him he could drink blood in front of him so long as it stayed in a dark mug. That wouldn’t be too weird to bring up, would it? Or maybe he was best keeping his mouth shut and not making a fool of himself.

Merritt gazed out the window at the midnight traffic, moonlight guiding cloaked vampires down the sidewalks.  It was hard to imagine he’d gotten this far.  He had his own desk now, and an actual paid internship with a boss who didn’t despise his guts. 

Only a year ago, he’d given up on his dreams of ever becoming a lawyer. Nobody else knew it, but he’d almost quit law school after what happened.  Merritt instinctively cradled his neck as phantom pains burned beneath the skin.  No amount of glamor magic could ever truly rid him of the scars buried underneath. 

Bandit climbed into his lap, making herself comfortable.  Bonds between familiars and spellcasters were suspected to be soul-tied.  It was why they struggled to move on to new owners, especially if not passed down in the family.  Merritt had noticed the way she picked up on his emotions, never leaving his side.  Not even within that demon’s den.  

He was relieved she came into his life after the incident. Law school hadn’t looked too kindly upon familiars and Merritt had never thought much of having a companion until his father brought Bandit home one morning. Back when he was house-bound, under the illusion he’d never leave beyond the safe barrier of their warded house again.  

“Merritt.” Bloodworth’s voice cut through the room like a knife, slicing through Merritt’s reverie.  He blinked and his boss hovered in front of him with a quipped brow.  “You were in deep concentration there.  All good?”

“Yeah, of course.” Merritt pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“You didn’t answer me. I asked if you wanted to take a break and grab a bite to eat.  We could bring it back to the office.”

“Oh, sure.  Sounds good to me.”  Merritt set aside his recent files he’d gone over, stacked up neatly near the crystal ball with his protective charm, which thankfully hadn’t expelled any more spirits.  He wondered about that ghost grandmother and if maybe she’d finally accepted her death and moved on into the afterlife.  

Fresh petrichor wafted in the air from the evening’s thunderstorm, the streets still washed in rain.  Dark clouds drifted in the sky, swallowing up the moon and the stars.  Only a few cloaked vampires traversed down the sidewalks, not even sparing them a glance.  

It was something Merritt had picked up on when walking through parts of Sanguine City inhabited by vampires.  Whenever Bloodworth was by his side, they paid him little attention.  Alone, however?  He could feel their piercing glares on his back.  Like they were eyeballing him for their next meal, like he was just a giant juicy steak dinner to them.

“Where are we heading tonight, sir?” Merritt asked, cradling Bandit close to his chest.

“There’s a restaurant around the corner that caters to both humans and vampires, so I can grab a cup of blood,” Bloodworth replied.

Just as they turned the corner, Bandit lifted her head and growled.  Merritt wasn’t sure if that merely made him paranoid, but a sense of dread flooded through him as he continued walking alongside his boss, who frowned at his familiar in his arms.  

A man in a dark maroon cloak quickened his pace, nearly pushing a couple out of his way to rush toward them.  Merritt hadn’t even a chance to pull his wand out and cast a shield or defensive spell when the man yanked out a dagger.  Screams erupted across the street, and Merritt felt the ironclad grasp of Bloodworth’s magic entangle around his body as the cloaked man forced the sharp blade into his chest.  

The magic fell around Merritt just as fast as it appeared.  His boss staggered back, fingers brushing the handle of the dagger before pulling back with a sharp hiss.  Behind them, the man had taken off at full speed and Merritt drew his wand with every intention of chasing after him, shooting a spell that hit him in the back.

“Don’t.” Bloodworth grasped his arm with a trembling hand, the look in his eyes so desperate and afraid, it unnerved him.  

“Sir,” Merritt gasped at the dagger literally protruding from his chest, with a ring of blood staining around the knife through his suit.  “You need medical attention.”

Around them, hushed whispers floated.  None moved to help his boss or question what had happened.  For Goddesses sake, nobody even considered sending a smoke signal to the sky to alert local authorities! 

“Help me back to the office, Merritt.”

“But sir!” Merritt found them surrounded by curious vampires, realizing they weren’t just looking at his boss, but at him.  Panic welled in his chest, but he didn’t let their intimidating stares bother him.  

“Trust me,” Bloodworth rasped.  “Much safer there.”

Despite how Merritt wanted to argue, he knew his boss was probably right. Somehow, he found the courage to glare right back at the nosy bloodsuckers as he eased an arm around his back, coaxing a little magic from his fingertips to help steady him.  

“Move, you worthless bats,” Merritt spat with the rage of a thousand sins.  Old wounds reopened and bled onto the surface, reminding him of when those vampires had left him to die back then.

He would’ve thought they’d shed some concern for their fellow vampire, but Merritt realized not.  One of the vampires dared to hiss at him as they passed.  He felt Bloodworth stir against him, but before his boss had a chance to say anything, Merritt growled at the vamp much like Bandit did.  

“I feed her vampires for breakfast.  Get out of our way before I let her have a snack.” Merritt smirked in triumph when the vampire reeled against the wall, keeping his fangs to himself.  

Wisps of familiar magic curled around Merritt’s arms and legs.  Despite his boss’s injury, he still let what little magic he could flow free to protect them.  He thought back to the moment before he was stabbed.  How that same magic had only flown around him.  As if Bloodworth had known he’d only had enough time to protect one of them and chose Merritt over himself.  

Maybe he was thinking too much into it. Merritt side-eyed his boss staggering alongside him, the dagger embedded deep into his flesh.  From what he recalled in vampire health class, silver ate away at their insides and quite literally seared their skin.  Seeing how it was a certified Hunter’s dagger with the ~logo~, Merritt suspected it was also draining out what blood he had in his body.

“We’re almost to the office, sir.”

Bloodworth groaned in response.  More blood had leaked through the front of his shirt.  Nothing compared to a human’s, but more lifefluid than normal for a vampire. Merritt struggled not to let his worries show when they reached the office and he coaxed a little magic from his fingers to open the door for them.