Everything Stays…

Two problems had made themselves very apparent in the past few weeks. First, there was a vampire hunter on the loose. The underground had been absolutely abuzz about it. Descriptions varied too much to pin down the perpetrator, but the few witnesses who had made it out alive remembered the sound of bells. 
Second, the Devil had upped the reward for the return of his son. The city’s demons had been working double-time to hunt him down; a chaotic mess of violent mistakes that had sent more than one party on a one way trip back to Hell.

And each story that met Esial’s ears sent a shiver down his spine.

It was dawn by the time he made it back to his trailer. Dogs from neighbors in the park growled and whined as he walked past. He pulled the wad of cash from his pocket and flipped through it; not a bad night. Two more weeks of this and he would be able to afford that vacation he wanted.

He unlocked he door and headed inside, hanging his jacket up on the coat rack and keeping his shoes off the carpet. He stretched and took in the musty smell of his trailer; he needed new air fresheners. This end of the city was so damp that it was nigh impossible to keep the smell out; harder still with half of his time spent at the fire station. He made a mental note and walked to the bathroom.

Esial took a long, hard look in the mirror. His hair clumped a bit from the fading product and sweat from a long night of work at Cassidy’s. He ran his fingers through it, separating stuck strands and pulling it back out of his face. His gaze fell then on the scar peeking out from under his eye patch and he became aware of the pain that lingered there. He took the patch off and let out a relieved breath as a thick, purple haze began to flow up from the freed socket. He needed a weekend without that thing on, a weekend to let what was left of that eye rest without fear of running into some startled mortal.

But he had another shift at Cassidy’s tonight and Sunday marked another week at the Fire Station.

With his eye free and the fear of the outside world passing with the exuding haze, Esial dropped his glamor. His ivory skin took on its familiar purple hue. He watched his horns and wings fade back into existence; wings stretching out as well as they could in the cramped bathroom. He didn’t have to worry here.

Esial turned on the sink and splashed his face with water. He was going to get some sleep today. He was going to go through the motions and enjoy a quiet rest.

His cell phone rang. Azurla. He ignored her; she was the last thing he needed right now. He went back to his routine; brushed his teeth, combed out his hair. His phone buzzed. A new message. Azurla never bothered to leave a message. She usually just showed up a few hours later.

Esial left the bathroom and started down the hall. He unlocked his phone.

“You have one new voice message. First message:”

Bells.

Esial dropped the phone and kicked it back towards the bathroom. He stood, frozen in the hallway, wings wrapped protectively around himself as he stared at it. The hazy socket throbbed.

Why was it so hard to just live a normal life?