Mary ann

The psychiatrist intertwined his fingers while his elbows rested on the table. Frustration is clearly visible on his face.
The man right in front of him, his patient, has a mixed reaction on his face. Clearly scared, somewhat unsure, and somewhat impatient.
“Ok, look mister ……” The psychiatrist started,
“You’re saying, you were trying to pick your wife up from the bus station on the 26th for the last 3 weeks but she never comes even though she calls you an hour before your departure every time”
The man hesitated for a bit then replied, “Yes”
The psychiatrist rolled his lips trying to soak it a bit.
“You do see the problem with that statement right?”
“Like any other man”
The psychiatrist exhaled loudly and began again.
“Ok, first of all, you cant pick up your wife on the 26th of may since that’s next week. Also, you cannot go pick up your wife on the 26th for 3 weeks straight. Even if you mixed up the dates, the bus shouldn’t be there.”
“I know all this damn it”
“It also doesn’t help with the fact that your wife has been dead for two weeks which you yourself have attested to.”
“………..”
“Look I don’t want to sound very rude here. But you seem to understand how absurd your claim is as I do. Then why are you being so stubborn about this?”
“Because its the truth. My wife is calling me at 3 am on the 26th at least 3 times last week and I went every time and she’s never there”
“Look it’s just normal for things like this to happen after such a traumatizing incident-”
“Which I thought the same too but THREE TIMES. I’m telling you, it really has been happening”
“Give me your phone shes been calling right? Let’s check the log”
“I didn’t it bring it”
“Why?”
“It scares me”
“How about not taking the call?”
“It’s my dead wife. Its the only way I can hear her voice again. I get scared but. I can’t keep my self from answering it”
A slight pause and the psychiatrist started again.

“You said you took a good amount of pills after your loss. Its a miracle your even alive. It’s normal to have some damages from that”
The man took laid his back on the chair. Trying to collect his thought.“You know. at first, I couldn’t put my finger on it. But now I’m sure. I’m dreaming. After I took the pills? No one woke me. I’m still sleeping I’m still dreaming. I’m dreaming about my dead wife, trying to pick her up from the station she never reached” the man said almost crying.
The psychiatrist could not sympathize with the man that has clearly lost his mind. Rather one thing he said rather choked him up. He himself is surprised how much it angered him.
“So what this all a part of your dream? You coming here?This whole place? My whole life? It’s all just a part of your dream?”
The man didn’t say a word.
“So what happens when you leave? I disappear? My wife whos waiting for me in Pollwell mall, does she disappear too? Can you see how absu-”
“It will”
“What?”
“It will disappear. Everything, the minute I leave, it won’t be here anymore.”
“I’m sorry I can’t help you”
“IT WILL DISAPPEAR. IT WILL DISAPPEAR. IT WIL LDISSAPEAR DAMMIT!”
The man shoves a bunch of files that were on the table trying to dispense his rage and then almost ran out of the door.
“Sheesh, I haven’t seen one of them in a while.” The psychiatrist sighs and looked at his wristwatch.
“Dammn it, I’m late, she’s gonna eat me alive”
The psychiatrist hurriedly started to pack until something very unusual caught his eyes.

The files the man just threw, are seemingly floating.

Disbelief in his eyes the psychiatrist looked forward. It’s unclear. The room seeming hazy, almost failing to be in shape.

Things are getting weird. Quite weird indeed.

X…x……….x……..X

A couple of months later.
In a certain park. A certain high school girl and a certain vampire who also happens to be a friend of said high school girl were sitting on swings.

“So you see, I’ve been trying to recover from the financial crisis your stupid butter has put me.”
“She isn’t my butter(yet), and seriously she couldn’t have done that much harm for you to resort to this” the vampire referred to the book she was holding.
“You have no idea how powerful rumors are Ell, if one believes hard enough it might as well be real!”
“Pfft, if that were the case vampires would be real!” the vampire named Ellson gave a half hardly laugh.
The girl seeming not understanding the joke looked at the book again.
“Well, yah. You would think it’s stupid. You didn’t see it. I would think it’s stupid too. Damn it did I really imagine it?”
“Yo, now you’re scaring me Kaede. Why would you buy this thing anyway?”
“A girl in C-3,is really into this stuff. I bought it for dirt cheap. I thought I could sell her this with a convincing enough story for a good price” she continued, “I just got a bit curious, looking it over and well you know the rest”

The vampire did know the rest because he knew everything she said has a good chance of being true, is what that really bothers him.
While thinking it over a curious figure caught his eyes. A little girl looks no more than ten years old. She’s walking around the park as if looking for something. The girl then noticed him and his friend and walked straight towards them. Her blond hair and black dress were a little creepy for Ellson.

“Ah mister” the girl said meekly,” Have you seen a rabbit recently?”
A bit random, he thought.
“Ah no, not that I noticed. Hey Kaede, you saw any rabbit?”
“Nope.”
“Oh, that’s too bad. Where did it run off to for pet’s sake!’
Kaede suddenly took interest in the girl. Who clearly seemed not from around here.
“What’s your name sweety?”
“Mary Ann” the girl replied without hesitation.
“You don’t look like from around here. Where are your parents? Did you come out here alone?”
“Yes. I really have to find this rabbit you see. I don’t really know things around here. So I’m constantly getting lost.”
Poor girl lost her pet. It really saddened both. They were thinking if they should convince her to go home. Would she even listen? wait did she say SHE was getting lost? Did she meet a snail by any chance?

Ellson sensed some negative eyes coming from the street. He wondered for a second then realized. Two high school students were carefreely swinging on the only two swings while a ten-year-old stood in front with a sad face.

Ellson jumped off the swings to stop the negative gaze.

“Let’s go, Mary. I will help you look for the rabbit.” then he looked at Kaede. “See you tomorrow k? Also if you see it again or anything weird for the matter call me asap alright?”
Kaede nodded.
“Oh thank you, mister! You know a man with weird swords wanted to help too but he looked so scary. I’m so glad someone wanted to help who seems normal!”
It’s saddened Ellson that no one normal tried to help the girl, including him. What has the world come down to?

X…….x…………x……………X

Kaede slowly walks towards the direction of home.Shaking out of fear in minutes interval.The thing I saw..was it-was it, really real?Is it still there?
Ellson didn’t believe her.She didn’t really expect anything else.She herself wouldn’t have.But what she did was as real as it can be.

Some time ago.

It was cult book.She found it in one of those illegal markets.Convincing cover with just enough age.Perfect selling material is what she thought.
Out of curiosity the cat decided to look into it.Texts were written in various languages,some that she at least could make out as an actual language,others just felt like scribbles.One particular chapter she did understand.It was written in old high German.Having weird German relatives finally had it perks she assumed.
It was a whole chapter dedicated to summon one particular demon.She always thought some sort of sacrifice is always needed but it seems a sigil and and an incantation was well enough.
Sure I could use a demon.Is what she thought.Playing the thought of having a devil. What would it do though?She wasn’t an expert in such so she wasn’t quite sure of the concretes.
Drawing a Sigil and putting some flower on it she recited the incantation word to word without much thought.

“Sint mihi dii Acherontis propitii Valeat numen triplex Jehovoe Ignei, aerii, aquatani spiritus, salvete Orientis princeps Belzebub, inferni ardentis monarcha, et Demogorgon, propitiamus vos, ut appareat et surgat Mephistophilis Dragon, quod tumeraris: per Jehovam, Gehennam, et consecratam aquam quam nunc spargo, signumque crucis quod nunc facio, et per vota nostra, ipse nunc surgat nobis dicatus Mephistophilis.”

“What was I expecting?”
Scolding herself for wasting time on something this stupid she left the book and the sigil in the attic and forgot the whole thing for a few days.
Until a certain afternoon. Bored out of her mind she went to the attic to calm her mind.
She was greeted by the same thing she left a few days ago.
“I should really clean this place.” is the first thought that came to mind.
She picked up the book. Opening up the same page again she wondered. Might as well practice Latin.So she started to translate the incantation.
Being happy with how it turned out she stepped on the sigil and tried reciting on a whim.Getting the mood and mindset together,just for the kicks.

“Acheron favor of the gods to me!” She shouted,enjoying the act to the fullest.
“Farewell to the power of three Jehovoe!
Fireproof aerial aquatani spirit, welcome!”
“East leader
Beelzebub, burning hell monarch and Demogorgon thee, so that Mephistopheles appears and rises Dragon!”

“The tumeraris by Jehovah, Gehenna, the holy water
I now sprinkle the sign of the cross that now make, and
Our wishes, will now rise up to us to let”

“Mephistopheles”

The sound of thunder could be heard on a cloudless afternoon.The sound was deafening to Kaede.She promptly closed her ears with her hands and her eyes closed naturally.
When she opened her eyes she wasn’t alone in the room anymore.A tall strong looking figure was before her.She indeed summoned a demon that day.
She summoned the worst kind of demon.

X/////////////////////////////////////////////////////x

Current day. Evening.

Ellson and Mary used the last half an hour trying to find a rabbit. Ellson taking for granted the mentality of “maybe it’s around here since she’s looking for it here” didn’t go so well. Since he lost his patience in only half an hour.

“When was the last time you seen the rabbit and where exactly?” He surprised himself thinking why didn’t he asked this in the first place.
“Oh, I haven’t seen the rabbit ever really. I just know that it has white fur and that it’s very cunning”
“Rabbit with white fur? That doesn’t help at all! Wait more importantly. She hasn’t seen her pet yet? She lost it before seeing it?” Ellson was puzzled greatly, but it would be simpler just to ask.
“How come you haven’t seen your pet yet?”
“Oh, it isn’t my pet mister. I only have a pet cat you see.She’s a wonderful cat, who does the cutest purr”
“Then why are you looking for this rabbit?”
“The rabbit is a close friend of a friend of mine. Its almost winter but because he hasn’t turned up yet. She is worried that he might be in danger, but more importantly, the rabbit is a part of the council you see, and without his input, the Raidou will make a decision on their own! Which could lead to many “disagreements” as she put it.I don’t quite understand it but it sounded very important”

Ellson who is more puzzled then he was before suddenly realized that he might not be dealing with a normal 10-year-old. As normal as she looks, the reply just now was too otherworldly to be rationalized with his current common sense.
Deciding this. he asked the girl if she would like a drink and offered a treat to a food place not so far. Mary eagerly agreed to the offer.
What the hell? Didn’t her parents teach her not to accept offers from strangers?

x x x x

They were sitting in an open table beside the road. Not many people were there at the time. Ellson had a troubled look on his face. While the girl wearing yellow clothing that matched the table was enjoying her drink.

“Where are your parents, Mary?” Ellson questioned after she had finished her drink.
“They are in Oxford currently. I’m not sure what they are doing right now though. I haven’t been home in quite a while. Oh, I do hope they are feeding Dinah properly, shes a lazy cat that would starve to death rather than go looking for it!”
Strange cat Ellson thought. What was stranger is that Oxford England is not really something close by. It was, in fact, a border away. Sure it isn’t a long journey by a plane or by the euro train but sure a child couldn’t do it alone.
That is of course geologically speaking.
“How did you come to this town? Did you always live here?”
“Oh no. I came yesterday by train”
“Where are your relatives then, we should get going or not they will be worried about you”

“Oh no. I came alone.Non my relatives actually live here.” Mary was a bit ashamed to admit it but she felt Ellson was a nice guy and she ought, to be honest with him. “I actually don’t even know where I am. The conductor of “the” train told me to find the rabbit and head back to the station. He said he would wait for me until I found it” she continued almost looking like she was about to cry. “Bu-but I lost track of where I was soon after. I kept looking for the rabbit thinking it would know the way”
It isn’t the first time Mary was lost. But to admit to another person that she was lost is a first. And she felt very ashamed for some reason.

Ellson, on the other hand, was ready to accept that he was dealing with a special kind of lunatic or something much much more delicate.
He was probably dealing with an aberration.

Sucking up the fact Ellson saw Marys troubled face clearly as she wasn’t really hiding it. To lighten up the mood Ellson spoke in an Operic tone.

“Ah, so it’s your first time here my dear Mary? Please be at ease. Welcome to Lumire Naito!The city of lights!The city of dreams! The city half the world deems it unreal! I hope you have a great time.”

Mary understandably laughed at Ellsons poor performance. Ellson himself couldn’t control his laughter. Both of them shared a hearty laugh. A laugh that muffled the distant sound of howling.

X………..x…………….x………………X

In a certain building.

Ema Edfiled was concentrating a serious amount of energy on a single piece of Lazuli when James barged in. Ema though angry with the disturbance didn’t let it show. She looked back at James and said, “Ellson is coming over. He said he might have found something weird”
“What did he find?” James asked.
“Didn’t ask. He is coming over with it. So why ask it on the phone.”
“You have the most time of any of us. Why are you still so tight about it?”
“Time is money. More importantly, my concentration is queens crown.”
James decided to leave it at that and went straight to the kitchen.
The kitchen was filled with the aroma of grilled meat. The old man was cooking his favorite.
“Hey old man. Put in another meat or two. We are gonna have company.”
“Who is it?” replied the cook.
“Harrison, you wouldn’t know him though. He wanted to talk about something important. I just hope he would have some insight into the gruesome murders”
“Harrison Murong?Why would such a high profile come though? Must be something more important than some serial killer”
“You’re saying that because you haven’t seen it with your own eyes. Murder no slaughter like this can only be done by a “demon”.I expected as much.
“Heh, you underestimate human anger”
“Are you talking from experience by any chance?”
The old man scoffed at the statement and went back to grilling meat. His eyes were reminiscing about something though.

X…………xx………xx…………X

Lumire Naito(shorten just Lumire) was a city of two distinctive parts. Represented in the name one side was widely considered Lumrie while the other was called Naito. Lumire is worldwide known as it was a leading center for arts, science, commerce, fashion, diplomacy, and finance in Europe. From the Roman era, it was a prosperous city with amphitheater, theatres, temples, baths, and forums as it was a capital of the kingdom that surrounded it.
If Lumire was the side where the aristocracy flexed their gifted authority over intellectually, then Naito was the short trip by highway, where they got drunk and laid to exhale lifes sufferings.
To this day one could easily say it didn’t change.Naitos well-known places are the parts where workers of every class refreshed themselves at night. From high-quality clubs to the shittiest love motel. From prostitutes to hostesses who ranked with the top movie stars in fame, all were found in Naito.If one had to corner everything Naito had to offer in one specific place it was in Mishima. Mishima was one of the most well-known places in Lumire Naito and also is considered the most dangerous. It was well known to the public that Mishima was the home ground for “The Goodfellas”.Everyone in Mishima knew they were there to have fun that they will forget in the morning. Everyone in Mishima also knew, never to look at someone directly at the eye.

This, however, was a lie. It is true that one could find every business in Mishima was somehow connected to the Mafia, it could hardly be called their home turf. The whole Mishima rumor was a clever plan by the Corsican family that diverted the attention from their true home base. Just a few blocks away from Mishima an uninteresting place called Neuilly.

This not only worked as a diversion but also created a false sense of fear. Mishima was one of the brightest examples of why Lumire was called the city of lights as truly the nights there could be considered brighter than the day and its fame was across the globe. Someplace so famous and well known to be corrupted to the core and be of common knowledge creates a sense of power to the public. This fear can go a long way.

The true home base for the mobs though was Neuilly. A place where all the buildings were once filled with university students due to its financial state in the Renaissance, now filled with mobs of every class. Objectively unsafe than any other place in Lumire, still one wouldn’t fear to look someone in the eye.

And through the streets of Neuilly a vampire and a little girl were walking towards a building, not unlike the rest.
Ellson convinced Mary to come with her in the pretext that he knew people who could help her with her bunny problem. Mary agreed right away. It wasn’t completely a lie however his real goal was hoping that Ema or James could tell what actually Mary was.

“I had to call my mum to let her know I wasn’t coming home tonight. She would worry If she didn’t know where I was. Don’t you think your parents would be worried too Mary? You haven’t been home for a long time, you said”
Ellson said trying to get to know Mary as much as he can.
Mary however now was slightly annoyed how much Ellson bought up her parents. Not that she disliked them, she just couldn’t find the reason. She met many people in her life. Many of them asked one too many questions too, but it never felt this personal. Though Mary was unaware of the concept of
“personal” so she couldn’t quite put her finger on what was wrong.
“No, I don’t think so. If they were I would somehow know I think. Besides I will be home in time anyway.”
“Bedtime must have passed by now Mary.”
“Oh no, time was quite angry at me once. He decided he would not pass for me. Not one bit I tell you! He really knows how to hold a grudge for someone so small. Make sure not to anger him by making mistakes reciting poems ok?”
Marie advised Ellson with genuine concern.

By this time they had already reached the building which helped Ellson for not having to reply that bizarre advice.

X………………………………..x

Let's go back to the demon summoning.

Kaede out of pure shock from the thunder fell on the floor and closed her eye and ears. When she came to, in a few seconds. She realized she was not alone in the room.
Right in front of her, there was something. A tall humanoid figure. It had a handsome face and long uncombed violet hair. Its whole body except the front was covered in blue-greenish scales and even with those scales the meat that resides just under it was buff.
With a sharp cackle, the demon introduced itself.

“I am Mephistopheles, but as my summoner Id assume you already know that and my position.”

Kaede who was still at shock was shaking unable to move in fear.

With another sharp cackel, the demon continued.

“At first I was impressed. How such a youngling wanted to summon me. Not only that with such dominance. STANDING ON THE SIGIL ITSELF!.It caught me off guard.” the demon stared down at the frightened Kaede and continued,
“But now what am I seeing? Why are you so frightened? Don't tell. Were you expecting something else or?”

Kaede figured out her legs could now move as she instinctively ran out of the door and closed it. She sat right down using her own back to hold the door.

“What was happening”

Was the question looming around her head.She took out her phone and called 18.
“Communications office, how can I assist”
As soon as the voice came Kaede blurted out something along the lines of this.

That there was a burglar in the house with a weird costume.She didn't no how it got in and then she quickly gave her address. The operator tried to keep her calm but Kaede cut the phone just then and there.
What should she do now?
She tried to call her parents but exactly then the door opened as if her whole body weight wasn't there to prevent that.

“To think one could summon me by mistake.” The demon talked to the air.
“ Time really has changed since I was last here. For information to be so easily distributed, the world seems to be progressing quite fast. I guess in a sense he's wish failed more than miserably”

Kaede in fear could not comprehend the mans saying. She was about to pass out of fear. But she couldn't, She couldn't let herself.
What was happening really?
Was this a burglary? That whats with the setup? Was it even possible? Is this a burglary in the first place? There was that freakish murder too.
Kaede with her remaining bit of sanity ran across the hallway to get out of the house. The demon didn't try to follow her. The moment he realized she didn't summon her on purpose and not only that probably even doesn't understand what she did he couldn't be bothered.

But now h